As predicted last week, Chase Elliott winning the Daytona 500 pole didn’t help his chances for success during the race.
His 500 got off to a great start, with teammate and 500 favourite Dale Earnhardt Jr pushing Elliott’s No. 24 to lead the first two laps.
After being passed on lap three, Elliott managed to keep his car lingering in the upper half of the top ten – that is until he managed to get loose and crash 20 laps into the race while coming off of turn four. The resulting spin sent him digging into the tri-oval dirt.
It was both painful and embarrassing to see such a thing happening to Elliott in his first Daytona 500. Here he is, the youngest ever Daytona 500 pole winner, a rookie taking over the seat of a legend, and on top of that being a son of a another NASCAR legend and fan favourite as well as the first rookie Xfinity Series champion, a feat accomplished in 2014.
So yes, the hype train was long and loud. Elliott had a ton of pressure on his shoulders to perform, and like that it was taken away in the slightest wiggle.
It’s rough to see, and there’s no doubt he probably wanted to hide in his motorcoach, at least initially. But instead, his No.24 crew got the car fixed as best as they could, and in the end Elliott finished 37th, 40 laps down. A dismal end to what had started as a promising day.
But as to whether or not this will define his 2016 season, that’s another story. Nothing has really changed, save morale. He’s still one of the most natural NASCAR talents out there. He’s paired with one of NASCAR’s most successful organisations with the best that money could by and the best teammates he could ask for at that.
So will this crash have any effect on the way his season goes? Fat chance.
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