25 laps into the NASCAR Cup Series race, Chase Elliott was in second place at the Brickyard 400. His crew followed Denny Hamlin and the other cars in the pit lane. But NASCAR officials say the stop of the No. 9 car could have been much different, at least in its outcome, because the 2020 Cup Series winner was penalized for crossing the blend line while exiting pit road.
The 28-year-old openly voiced his disapproval on team radio and railed against the governing body’s decision. What does that mean? “You handed out a (expletive) memo yesterday,” Elliott told the group angrily. “Follow their (expletive) instructions to the letter.” “Did they show you the black flag?” crew chief Alan Gustafson asked. The driver didn’t answer the question and continued his rant. Elliott protested, “I never said line.” Now tell me about my (expletive) behavior on the (expletive) circuit. Gustafson tried to redirect the driver, saying, “I get it, just focus ahead.”
“You’re not right. You’re not right. Think ahead. There’s nothing we can do at this point. If they don’t threaten you going forward, keep going until I get it.” “No, they showed me the black flag,” the HMS driver responded. Despite the anger, the penalty did not affect the overall day, as the No. 9 car finished second in Stage 2 and 10th in the race. Chase Elliott accompanied the pit stop penalty. Interestingly, former Cup winner Brad Keselowski received the same penalty for this stop and expressed similar confusion and a completely different reaction to the NASCAR officials’ decision.
The RFK Racing driver and co-owner said over the radio, “So either I can’t read or they don’t know how to whistle. One of the two assured him, ‘That’s not what the email said.'” “The race track is on the outside white line. Of course, ultimately it was my fault,” the driver said. “I’ve been racing on this oval track for 13 years, and you guys often finish that fast.”
I got a text the night before saying, “If you run out that fast, you’re going to be penalized.” I have no words. Elliott’s second pit stop penalty in recent weeks Elliott’s penalty for what happened at the pit stop is even more interesting considering the No. 9 car was speeding in the previous week’s race at Pocono. His record of not receiving a speeding penalty in 92 races was broken, making the incident memorable. The driver’s perspective had clearly changed, but the crew chief claimed NASCAR made a mistake.
“How fast were you going?” Elliott asked. “0.16 mph,” the crew chief replied. The driver responded, “I don’t think that much has changed, because the rest of the day was fine.” To which Gustafson replied, “The zone was way out of bounds from the start.”
That was completely inaccurate. You see, you just don’t see things clearly. Ignore it. It was wrong. Unfortunately, they refused to admit their mistake there.
Alan Gustafson, as a competent crew chief, supports his drivers even when they are wrong.
