It might have cost Chase Elliott the championship, but the No. 9 driver didn’t blame Ross Chastain after the race.
Elliott and Chastain made contact after the Lap 200 restart, which resulted in the No. 9 car slamming into the inside wall. The incident not just put Elliott out of contention for the title, but also the worst finish among the title contenders.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver also finished last in the points standings among his title rivals due to the 28th place finish at Phoenix Raceway.
Elliott “looking forward to the off-season” after a disappointing finish to the 2022 season
However, he deflected questions when asked about Chastain and the incident after the race and rather focused on the off-season and praising his team effort for the season.
In a recent episode of the Dale Jr Download, Dale Jr. spoke about the incident with co-host Mike Davis, where he said:
“He just spun himself out. But he didn’t do anything. Egregious. But they wouldn’t say, Man. Ross wrecked. You go get him.”
Dale Jr. also speculated that the reason Elliott chose to remain silent was that he didn’t want to end his 2022 season in a complaining mood.
“I think that if they were going to another race the next weekend he would have said more. But the fact that he was ending the year that weekend, he didn’t want that to be the sound bite for the next several months. But what’s the last thing you’re going to say to a microphone at the end of a year when you’ve lost a Championship? Is it going to be complaints about Ross Chastain? Is that what you want to leave on the table? Is that the bookend that you want?”
While Elliott might have chosen to not speak on the incident, Hendrick Motorsport’s Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon was very open in criticizing Chastain for the aggressive move.
I was rooting for Elliot but not a fan of NASCAR anymore. I saw this as Chastain had a run and went for it as he should have. Elliot came down into him and spun. Really no ones fault because Elliot probly didn’t know Chastain was there. If he did then he should not have tried to block but id say he kust didnt expect Chastain to have that big of a run. I’m sure a lot of people had said this but whatevever site this is doesn’t allow me to read comments
Can anyone explain why the 22car only got 40 points when in fact he won stage one and scored points in stage two,thanks
Because in the final race of the season stage point do not mean anything. Of the final 4 drivers who ever finishes ahead of the other 3 drivers is considered the champion!
restart, pedal to the metal. russ goes down chase tries to block him, need i say anymore? even my remote control seen it , and the tv was off