Chase Elliott clinched a dramatic victory at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series race, demonstrating resilience and quick decision-making during a tense final restart. The No. 9 driver from Hendrick Motorsports secured the Kansas win after navigating several risky maneuvers on the track, showing why he remains a fierce competitor in the series.
Final Restart Drama Defined Elliott’s Victory
Elliott described the last restart of the race as unpredictable but said he was determined to maximize his momentum despite the challenging tenth-place position.
“I felt like anything can happen, but you’re winning up tenth on a green and white checkered, I wouldn’t say your odds are high at that point. I’ve seen crazier things, but my mindset was just to try to build up as much momentum as I could and hope lanes, hope things kind of went my way, and fortunately they did,”
Elliott said.
He focused on maintaining momentum as he moved through the turn, looking specifically to position himself alongside leaders in order to create an opportunity for overtaking.
“I felt like I got about as far as I was going to get off of two. I had momentum on the white, and then I saw the 11 and 23 racing hard in three, and I thought, man, if I just stick to the bottom here, I might at least be three wide with them off of four. That’s kind of what I was shooting for.”
During this moment, Elliott made contact with fellow competitor Denny Hamlin. Reflecting on the collision, he explained,
“Then I saw the 11 coming back down, and obviously ran into him. I think he was trying to cover my run, but he was too late at that point.”
The physical racing did not deter Elliott’s focus as he managed to edge Hamlin to the finish line.
“Yeah, just stayed with it and beat him back to the line. So we’ll take it,”
Elliott added.
Handling Tire Challenges and Race Strategy
The race featured several cautions and restarts, which complicated strategies, especially regarding tire wear and positioning. Elliott shared that the worn tires were challenging to manage but ultimately played a role in his late-race advantage.
“I felt like every time we ran a few corners our advantage was going away a little bit. They were really hard to get clean. The tires, I was working them really hard those last couple, and especially the last one, and they were just difficult to get cleaned off to have grip like a set of stickers would have.”
He explained,
“Yeah, I just feel like every time we scuffed them, I felt the advantage from two to four was getting smaller. But once they cleaned off in that last green and white checkered, I did feel like I had an advantage again the last lap or something.”
Considering the unpredictable late cautions, Elliott recognized the strategic risks tied to lane choices during restarts.
“Like a couple of those restarts that we lost spots on, guys would dive into the bottom, and then they would catch the timing line and the caution would come out, so you lose a couple spots that probably wouldn’t have been lost spots if you would have just seen what happened at the end of the next straightaway. But that’s part of it. That’s part of giving up a row to have the preferred lane. We see that a lot, and that’s just the risk you take. Sometimes it works out in your favor, and sometimes it doesn’t.”
Reflections on Rival Denny Hamlin’s Steering Issues
When asked about Denny Hamlin’s power steering problems that were reported during the race, Elliott admitted uncertainty about the severity of the issue.
“I’m not sure, and that’s always a difficult thing, right? How much power steering? Was it completely zero? Was it a little bit? Was it three-quarter? Was it half? Only he knows that.”
He recalled hearing discussions about Hamlin’s struggle with power steering earlier during the race but did not observe clear signs of it affecting Hamlin’s driving on track.
“They were talking about it a little bit out there, but they had made mention that he’d had power steering issues on a couple restarts, maybe like a restart mid-race or three-quarters of the way through the race or something. I remember them talking about it, but it didn’t look visually like he had an issue, so I didn’t really think anything of it.”
Elliott accepted that power steering difficulties might have influenced the final lap dynamics.
“Certainly could have played a role into the last lap if he had a big issue like that.”
A Win With a Unique Excitement
Compared to his other races, Elliott emphasized that this particular victory held a different kind of thrill because of the uncertain and intense finish.
“I think the most cool and awesome factor is to just dominate. That’s the best way to put a stamp on a win, in my opinion, just being a competitor. I do think there are days and moments like today that bring a definite level of excitement for everyone. Like I didn’t know what was going to happen going into turn three any more than anybody else did.”
He highlighted the value of reviewing the race afterward to see how events unfolded from multiple perspectives.
“I’m excited to go back and watch it, honestly. You live this stuff and you live these moments. Obviously I know what my vantage point was, and I remember the things that I was looking at when I was looking at them, but I don’t have the full picture. So I’m excited to go back and just see what it all looked like. I was making split-second decisions based off the information I had in front of me at that time, right?”
Elliott reflected on the adrenaline, remarking that this victory might be one of the most exhilarating in his Cup career:
“Yeah, so I definitely think there’s a level of excitement to that one that I’m not sure I’ve experienced in the Cup series to this point. I’ve been on the opposing end of some excitement for sure.”
He concluded on the win’s significance:
“But yeah, I don’t know. At least in my Cup career. I could be wrong on that. I’d have to go back and think about it. It was definitely a cool one. Any win, though, is great. I’m not going to complain about it.”
Elliott’s Approach to the Playoffs After Kansas
Regarding his playoff strategy moving forward, Elliott explained that winning now shifts his mindset but doesn’t change his fundamental focus.
“Yeah, I think we run the race to try and win it for sure. Flip stages and points doesn’t matter at this juncture. For us — I mean, if we’re competitive. If we’re not competitive and we can get a stage point, a stage win and get the bonus point that way, then of course. But assuming you have pace is kind of how I was answering those questions. If we’re slow, then that don’t matter anyway.”
He emphasized the importance of speed and competitiveness to maintain a winning strategy:
“We’ve got to go be fast, and if we’re fast, at least we can run our strategy how we would typically do it to have a shot to win.”
What Makes Kansas Speedway Ideal for Action-Packed Racing
Elliott credited the track’s layout and surface quality as reasons why Kansas Speedway consistently delivers engaging and competitive races.
“It’s a really complicated answer that it would take me, I think, a very long time to explain how I would want to explain it. I think the best thing is just chalk it up is it’s shaped really nicely. The entries are wide. You have a lot of options to run different lanes, and the surface is really smooth too, I think to put it simply.”
He compared Kansas to other tracks where passing is difficult due to narrow lanes.
“This car likes places where you can enter in different lanes, and I think where the struggles come in are when you’re stuck behind someone in a really small preferred lane on corner entry. Then your options dwindle, and that’s when the challenges begin.”
Summarizing, Elliott said,
“This place, just the way it’s shaped, the way the surface is, everything just suits it about as perfectly as we could have a track do that.”
Clarifying Contact With Denny Hamlin in Closing Laps
Addressing rumors about aggressive driving in the race’s final moments, Elliott affirmed there was contact but insisted it was clean competition.
“Yeah, we did make contact off of four. Yeah, we were pretty much door to door, the best I can remember. I was coming on the bottom with a pretty good head of steam. I think he saw me coming, and he was just trying to cover my run. I think he was a little late to the party.”
He added,
“It was no harm, no foul. I’m very confident he would tell you the same thing.”
Perspective on On-Track Battles Among Competitors
Elliott refrained from commenting extensively on an incident between Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace nearby, noting his focus on his own race.
“Honestly, probably not fair for me to comment. I was coming down the back, and yes, I was right behind them. Once I saw that they were fixing to ship it in there, my eyes went to where I needed to go, so I quit watching them.”
He concentrated fully on precision driving in a narrow zone, explaining,
“I knew I had to paint that white line really precise, and I had to hit it really — it’s a pretty small window. I don’t know how wide that white line is, but it’s not very big. I knew I had to get my lefts on it, so my eyes went there, and I have no idea what happened with them.”
Mental Intensity During High-Stakes Racing
When asked whether the stress of racing detracts from enjoyment, Elliott acknowledged that the mental focus is all-consuming during competition.
“You’re locked in. I think there are moments where your car’s driving really good, and it’s doing all the things that you want it to do, and you’re like, man, this is great. This is exactly how I want the car to feel.”
Despite this, Elliott emphasized an ever-present drive to improve and compete at the highest level.
“I think in most cases just the competitor inside you is always just locked into like how can I be better? What can I do to, if you run in fifth, how do you get to fourth? If you run in second, how do you get to first? If you’re leading, how do you extend your lead? How can I drive my car in a way that’s going to be beneficial through the long run?”
He admitted,
“There’s always a what’s next when you’re competing, and I’m as guilty of that as probably anybody.”
Winning’s Role in the Playoff Chase
A victory at this stage of the playoffs offers crucial momentum and security, but Elliott keeps his focus narrow to maintain that edge week by week.
“I think that for us I’ve been very transparent about the areas we need to be better in, we need to be better, no doubt. I thought this weekend was truthfully a really, really solid weekend, a really competitive weekend for us for how we unloaded Saturday to the opportunities that we continued to present ourselves today. That is why we ended up having a chance to win ultimately. We got our turn, as I mentioned.”
Elliott sees the playoffs as a long, evolving battle where persistence is key.
“The way I’ve kind of progressed through the playoffs this year is just fight as hard as I can each week, try to earn myself and our team three more weeks, and you never know what can happen in three weeks. That’s the — we talked about this when you asked me at Media Day. What did I tell you? Playoffs is a long time. A lot can happen in ten weeks.”
He highlighted the unpredictability and opportunity,
“That can be the difference in somebody being mediocre to potentially getting on a hot streak or even a team collectively getting better throughout that course of time. So it’s all about buying yourself more time. If you’re not where you want to be, you’re just trying to buy yourself more time. Fortunately, we bought ourself three more weeks, and we’ll fight like hell until they tell us to not.”
Chase Elliott’s Kansas win not only showcased his ability to perform under pressure but also reinforced his place as a formidable contender as the NASCAR playoffs progress. With this victory, Elliott has earned valuable momentum that could shape the remainder of the season. Fans and competitors alike will watch closely as he continues to push for championship success at upcoming races such as the ROVAL and beyond.
