Apart from his title run, Chase Elliott’s 2020 season will also be remembered for a single moment of frustration at Darlington. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was running second in the closing laps of the Toyota 500 when Kyle Busch clipped him into the wall, ending his night in 38th.Elliott climbed out of the No. 9 Chevrolet, stood by the track, and gave Busch a one-fingered salute as the field rolled past under caution. It was the second Cup event in three days at the South Carolina oval, as NASCAR returned from its COVID shutdown with back-to-back Darlington races.Elliott was fourth in Sunday’s Real Heroes 400 (May 17) and looked set for another top finish before the crash. Instead, Busch’s misjudgment erased a potential podium and left the Hendrick driver with little to show for a strong run. Busch admitted his fault immediately, but Elliott later explained his reaction."I really think it depends on the person. How much respect you either had or didn’t have for that person prior to that moment. In Kyle’s situation, Kyle and I have gotten along for many years. I feel like I’ve raced him with a lot of respect because I respect him," Elliott told NASCAR afterward.Chase Elliott’s response stood in contrast to his in-the-moment gesture. On the track, the fury was immediate. Off it, he acknowledged Busch’s reputation and accepted the apology, even if he admitted it hurt to be on the wrong end of the rare mistake.The moment unfolded in the closing stretch. Elliott was running second behind Denny Hamlin when Kyle Busch attempted to slot back into line. Misjudging the space, the No. 18 clipped Elliott’s left rear and spun him nose-first into the wall. While Busch finished second and Hamlin took the win, Elliott was left furious.Busch explained that he tried to find a gap and misjudged the distance to Elliott. Kevin Harvick, who finished third, echoed the thoughts and called it unintentional. Meanwhile, Elliott explained why it didn’t boil over into a physical altercation."It’d be kind of hard to fight when you have to stay six feet apart. My arms aren’t long enough," he added.Chase Elliott also made it clear that Busch’s immediate apology mattered, reinforcing the respect between the two despite the incident.How Chase Elliott turned a Darlington low point into a championship runChase Elliott celebrates after winning the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series. Source: ImagnChase Elliott responded to that 38th-place finish in May with resilience. He put together four top-five finishes in the next six races and won at Charlotte and Daytona on his way into the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.When the postseason began, Elliott elevated again. He won three of the final five races, including the finale at Phoenix, where he beat Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano to claim his first Cup Series championship. The Darlington wreck with Busch, once a flashpoint of frustration, became an early-season footnote in a career-defining year.Busch, by contrast, was eliminated in the Round of 8. Yet even through that tension, the two have maintained a baseline of respect. Their rivalry has flared again, as recently as Richmond in 2025, where Busch denied Elliott a shot at the regular-season crown. But without the bitterness that often lingers in the Cup garage.