Chase Elliott is through to the Round of 12 in the 2017 NASCAR Playoffs, but he’s probably going to be haunted by one that got away at Dover.
Most of the 12 drivers still alive in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are going to be happy after the Apache Warrior 400 at Dover. Chase Elliott is going to be the exception.
Though thought of by almost every fan and observer, as one of the brightest young stars in NASCAR, Elliott has yet to claim his first victory in the top series. He’s had some close calls in his first two full-time campaigns in the No. 24 Chevrolet, but none as closer as the one that transpired on Sunday.
Elliott was leading in the closing laps of the Apache Warrior 400, clear of the entire field by 4-plus seconds except for Kyle Busch. Unfortunately, that’s the one guy you probably don’t want chasing you right now, especially with lapped traffic to deal with in front of you.
One of those lapped cars was the 31 of Ryan Newman, who wasn’t going to give up his spot since he was still battling to keep his slim chances of advancing to the Round of 12 alive. When Elliott caught up to Newman and another lapped car, it allowed Busch to pull right up on his bumper.
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Elliott tried to hold off Busch on the bottom, but the 18 was too strong using the high line. Busch made the pass with less than two laps to go, and Elliott’s chances of his first victory slipped away just like that.
To no one’s surprise, Elliott was dejected after the race when asked by the NBC Sports crew what he could have done to hold off Busch.
“Do something different, I don’t know,” Elliott said on pit row. “I’m just so disappointed in myself. I couldn’t have had it any easier … I just gave it away.”
Could he have tried a different line instead of sticking to the bottom?
“Yeah, maybe,” he said. “You look back and obviously could have done something different, but I didn’t.”
No one expects that Chase Elliott won’t eventually break through with a victory, and he can take solace in the fact that he’s very much still alive in the championship chase. This one will sting for a while, though, no doubt about it.