"Self-inflicted" mistake puts Elliott in must-win scenario after Texas

Chase Elliott quickly shifted his focus to the elimination race at ISM Raceway after putting himself further in a hole Sunday afternoon.

Elliott backed the right rear and bounced the right front of his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet off the Turn 2 wall on Lap 10 at Texas. The damage required significant repairs, and Elliott fell multiple laps down. He finished 32nd after running the rest of the race, picking up spots as fellow competitors fell out of contention.

“Obviously today was very self-inflicted,” Elliott said. “I made a mistake that there’s really no excuse for, and that’s what you get. When you make mistakes, you put yourself in a bad position, and that was all on me today. I hate that it happened, but it did, and we’ll just go onto Phoenix and try to get a win out there.”

Running in the middle lane where officials had laid down traction compound, Elliott said he got loose. It was another low to go with as many highs Elliott has had in the playoffs as last weekend the team had a mechanical issue in Martinsville, and he also suffered a mechanical issue in the previous round at Dover.

“You can’t do anything about it now,” he said after Texas. “Onward.”

https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/1191089790516465664

Sitting 78 points below a transfer spot, Elliott must win the race at ISM Raceway to advance.

“I feel a lot better about it than I did today,” said Elliott of his chances at ISM. “So, I look forward to getting out there.”