Chase Elliott lays blame squarely where it belongs after bold strategy call

Chase Elliott laid the blame squarely at himself after he finished sixth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Hendrick Motorsports star, who recently spoke extensively about his season to Express U.S. Sports, had high hopes of ending his winless run.

But the Hendrick Motorsports star paid the price for some costly mistakes, which prompted crew chief Alan Gustafson, who has faced criticism from some fans, to make a ‘Hail Mary’ call in the final stage. Elliott was among the very last to pit in the final round of green flag pitstops but the move didn’t quite work as they hoped for a caution.

Elliott’s teammate, William Byron, was passed late on by Ross Chastain for the win, while another Hendrick star, Kyle Larson, was wiped out in a crash, having also crashed out of the Indy 500 earlier in the day.

• William Byron takes aim at Joey Logano as Denny Hamlin blamed
• NASCAR results in full as William Byron denied in dramatic Coca-Cola 600 finish

Despite a top-10 finish that could be viewed as a strong result, Elliott didn’t hide the fact he felt one got away as he told Express U.S. Sports he was the problem for the No.9 team.

“I thought our Napa Chevy was really good,” Elliott said “Our whole team did a great job except for me, honestly.

“Gained spots on pit road all night, had a fast car…and I gave them all right back.” 

Asked about the strategy call in the final stage, he said: “It was great. We ended up finishing sixth. I think I had p----- away probably back to 12th or something before that.” 

Elliott made a costly mistake on a restart after Carson Hocevar blew up and brought out the caution at the start of the final stage. He dropped from fifth to tenth in the blink of an eye before his team made the bold strategy call. 

He stayed out nine laps after the leaders pitted under green, with only Ty Gibbs staying out on track longer. But the caution they prayed for never arrived as the No.9 team cut its losses and came in on lap 357 for the final time. 

DON'T MISS: 

Kyle Larson doesn’t hide opinion on Chase Elliott and William Byron personality
Denny Hamlin accused of 'sabotage' with cheap move deciding NASCAR race
Bubba Wallace left looking foolish and 23XI teammate Tyler Reddick doesn’t help

Amazon Prime Video pit reporter Marty Snider said at the time: “Hail Mary over for Chase Elliott and Alan Gustafson. They tried all they could.

“Chase said a couple of runs ago, ‘I just need to be better on restarts tonight’. Four tires here.” 

Steve Letarte added: “If you’re going to run this strategy, commit to it. Run until you need fuel. Because the longer you run, if the caution comes out, now the question is Byron, Hamlin, Chastain, they might come and get tires again.

“I love the gamble and I love the all-in aspect. The 54 (Ty Gibbs) is trying everything.”