LAS VEGAS — A race that seemed promising for Chase Elliott turned dismal in one pit stop Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Photo: Jonathan Fjeld/TRE
Elliott started fourth and finished fifth in the first stage despite losing some ground during his first pit stop. He lost a spot during a stage break stop but ran sixth as he headed into his second green-flag stop.
That is where the day went dismal. As the front tire changer took the right-front tire off, it turned and rolled out of the pit stall with no one nearby to retrieve it. As a result, Elliott had to come back to pit road to serve a pass through penalty.
Although Elliott lost a lap, he was in contention for the free pass. He wedged himself in between Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick, who raced first and second, and followed them through lap traffic. He eventually picked off all the cars Larson lapped in the stage and claimed the free pass to get back on the lead lap.
Elliott started the final stage on the lead lap in 25th. However, he only worked his way up to 18th before pitting. After pitting a couple of laps after most drivers, he exited 20th and worked his way up to 20th when the caution for William Byron and Ty Dillon flew with 32 laps to go in the 267-lap race.
The caution triggered pit stops. That put Elliott back to 18th, right in the middle of an 11-car wreck in turn one immediately on the restart with 23 laps to go.
From there, Elliott could only finish 18th. Frustrated, he declined to talk with TRE after talking with USA about the race.
“I thought it was going pretty good for a little while at least. Started the day strong. Thought we had our balance in a really good spot. I was kind of happy about the way it was driving, everything. Unfortunately had a penalty on pit road. Just got back in traffic. I needed something pretty different balance-wise to be good back there,” Elliott said to USA. “I probably missed a little bit on my first read. We only had a couple shots to try and help that, so… Yeah, I got behind on adjustments for the track position.”
Photo: Jonathan Fjeld/TRE
Elliott added he made “a couple bad decisions” on the final restart. Now, he is 23 points below the cutline going into Talladega.
“Yeah, I feel fine. It is what it is. Everybody’s got to go. So you better learn to like it real quick because it will be here soon,” he said.
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com