Chase Elliott makes feelings clear as Talladega setback puts him in a must-win at Martinsville

Chase Elliott’s playoff hopes took a serious hit after a rough afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was caught in a major crash in Sunday’s YellaWood 500, which ended his day early, leaving him in a must-win situation at Martinsville Speedway on October 25.

The multi-car wreck on Lap 52 was triggered when Erik Jones sent Noah Gragson spinning toward the inside of the track. As cars scattered to avoid the chaos, race leader AJ Allmendinger and Justin Haley were among those slammed into the outside wall.

Chase Elliott had nowhere to go. His No. 9 Chevrolet was collected in the mess, leaving the team with damage too severe to repair. Elliott finished in last place. Now that his performance has taken a hit at Talladega, the pressure has mounted for Martinsville. Here’s what Elliott had to say about the mishap on Sunday (via NBC Sports):

“The assignment is very simple (for Martinsville). I don’t know about the crash. I saw someone get turned sideways. Just trying to get slowed up like normal and ended up getting turned sideways and slid into some people, and they slid back into me. I hate it."

"I felt like we had ourselves in a good spot before the cycle. I didn’t feel we executed the cycle very well. That put us back in the back again. I’m not sure if that would have helped us miss the wreck or not. All that’s very circumstantial. It is what it is. I can’t change it now. Just all eyes on Martinsville and try to go up there and get a win," he added.

Chase Elliott’s playoff hopes for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series have taken a major blow after his early exit from Talladega. He now sits eighth among the remaining playoff drivers, 62 points below the cut line. With that deficit, a win at Martinsville is his only realistic way to the Championship 4.

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Chase Elliott stayed confident heading into Talladega despite earlier setbacks

Before the crash at Talladega, the Hendrick Motorsports driver said he was proud of the team’s pace at Las Vegas, even if the final result didn’t reflect their performance. Elliott was on track for a top-five finish there before a costly pit stop penalty set him back. He still managed to finish fifth in Stage 1 and later crossed the line 18th.

Heading into Talladega, Chase Elliott started 25th on the grid but felt confident about turning things around. Speaking with Frontstretch, he explained his mindset clearly.

“I think for me it's pretty simple. I feel like we've got to go win. And if we don't, we've got to have really good opportunities to win. To carve ourselves out of the position that we're in,” he said.

He added that the team’s pace at Las Vegas gave him encouragement for the upcoming race.

“I think I find more relief than anything in just our performance last week. I don't think our result was a great indication of just the job we did throughout the week and throughout the entire weekend. So honestly, I was really proud of our pace last week," he added.

At that point, Chase Elliott sat 23 points below the playoff cutline. He knew stage points at Talladega could help, but realistically, a win was the cleanest path forward. Elliott finished fifth in his last Talladega outing after starting 30th, showing that he could climb through the field when the car and conditions aligned. However, this time, the track did not work in his favour.