Chase Elliott has been forced to make a team change in the leadup to the second NASCAR Cup Series playoff race.

Last weekend, Elliott did little to hide his frustration after a “laughable” series of events ruined his chances in the Cook Out Southern 500. The 29-year-old was forced to settle for a P17 finish, even despite receiving a late lifeline once Derek Kraus’ car burst into flames.

Entering Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway, Elliott will be without his spotter Trey Poole, who’s been removed from the roster while on baby watch, per FOX Sports. Tyler Deering will take his place at the top of the grandstands, having previously served as an additional spotter for the No. 9 team during road-course races.

Gateway has notoriously given Elliott trouble in the past, with it actively standing as the only track on the Cup Series calendar where he’s never recorded a top-10 finish. Since it was added to the schedule in 2022, the Hendrick Motorsports driver finished 21st and 13th in 2022 and 2024, respectively, but was unable to race there in 2023 while serving a suspension.

“I don’t have a key to Gateway,” Elliott conceded. “I wish I did. Maybe I’ll find one when I get there this time.”

Though Elliott — who currently sits nine points above the cutline — has yet to master the 1.25-mile track, he acknowledged that the Cook Out Southern 500 is just one of many races in the postseason. “You’re talking about 10 races. A lot of racing. That’s enough time to be really good for a stretch, to be really bad for a stretch and then get really good again,” Elliott said.

“And so I think sometimes it gets lost just how many races and how long 10 weeks is, and how much can change through that period of time. For me personally, it’s what can I do this week to be better when we get to the racetrack on Saturday? And how can my Saturday help us on Sunday?”

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Elliott will look to swiftly put his disappointing performance at Darlington behind him after getting caught up in bad pit strategy while trying to run long, only to then have a long stop due to a loose lug. “It was a really long night,” he conceded. “Yeah, we had clawed our way up to the top 10 and tried to run really long on that one run. Everyone was being real aggressive with short-pitting so we tried to run long.

“And then yeah, as soon as we did that, the caution came out. It was honestly laughable at that juncture. Just came in and had an issue on pit road, had to put our heads down and grind out a top-last. Just keep pushing at it. It’s been a long night for sure. We’ve got to put our heads together to try to figure out how to be better at Gateway and how to go faster.”