The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) started as a test of patience for Chase Elliott. The Hendrick Motorsports driver, known for his road course dominance in previous years, struggled early in practice. Despite ranking well in lap averages, he wasn’t among the favorites to claim the pole. But when it mattered most, Elliott delivered.
In a thrilling last-minute lap, he qualified for third place, marking his best starting position at COTA in his Cup Series career. It was a much-needed boost for Elliott, who had been searching for a strong performance after a dry spell on road courses. But before he could even settle into the race, disaster struck. The green flag had barely dropped when Ross Chastain decided to make an aggressive move. And the calm and composed person of Elliott completely flipped in an instant.
Chase Elliott cleans his hands over the radio!
Charging into Turn 1 from the inside, Chastain made unwanted contact with Elliott, sending the No. 9 car into a spin. It was an unnecessary dive-bomb, typical of Chastain’s aggressive racing style. Notably, NASCAR officials didn’t throw the caution, and Elliott crawled back to the pit lane. However, the No. 9 team was not happy with Chastain’s move, and Elliott’s crew chief asked him to wreck Chastain whenever he got a chance.
“We’re gonna have to pay that shit back because I’m over people like that constantly doing dumb shit. When we get a chance to send him, we’re sending that 1 car,” Crew chief Alan Gustafson told Elliott over the radio. However, Chase Elliott held his calm and responded, “No, that’s totally fine. I’ll do what I need to do. But I just need to make sure I wasn’t in the wrong before I do it.” Notably, his team reassured him that he had done nothing wrong and that Chastain’s move was reckless.
Chase Elliott’s team isn’t happy with Ross Chastain. Elliott doesn’t exactly sound thrilled but wanted to make sure he didn’t do anything wrong first.
“We’re gonna have to pay that shit back, because I’m over people like that constantly doing dumb shit. When we get a chance to… pic.twitter.com/02KLcK8EJU
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) March 2, 2025
This is a developing story.
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