“A mistake on my part”: Chase Elliott looks back on NASCAR penalizing for speeding at Pocono 

Chase Elliott has recently opened up to the media saying that it was his mistake that resulted in him receiving a speeding penalty at Pocono Raceway last week. However, the Hendrick Motorsports driver also mentioned that he would probably not get a straight answer from NASCAR as to what or how exactly it was his mistake.

Chase Elliott, along with his teammate Kyle Larson and a few others like Austin Cindric, and Daniel Suárez, faced the same fate. If it weren't for the penalty that relegated them to the back of the field, both Larson and Elliott most likely could have recorded solid top-5 performances.

For Elliott, it was even more unfortunate. The Dawsonville native had not been penalized for speeding on pit roads in 92 races until Pocono. When asked about the same, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion said,

"I haven’t gotten a straight answer, you know. You’re not going to get a straight answer from the NASCAR front, which is fine. But it just, yeah, it was a bummer. Whether the zone was too short or the zone wasn’t short enough, we had made X amount of pit stops throughout the day that I wasn’t speeding."

Pocono Raceway has more pit stalls than most other racetracks on NASCAR's roster. This means the readings often show discrepancies if not calibrated properly. Therefore, the drivers find it difficult to draw the line even after putting their cars on cruise control and running within the permissible speed limit and its corresponding RPM.

"You know, everybody else, besides the handful of guys that got caught, didn’t speed either," Elliott further added. "So, I just kind of chalk it up to a mistake on my part, really at the end of the day. There’s nothing I can do about it, so what does it matter now, really? You know, just try not to make that mistake again."

Chase Elliott finished ninth in the 400-miler and took home 43 points. Currently, the Chevy star stands atop the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 703 points. Kyle Larson is just three points behind him in P2. Elliott's next race is at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 21.

"They didn’t admit their own fault"- Chase Elliott's crew chief fires shots at NASCAR

Chase Elliott's crew chief Alan Gustafson was not happy with NASCAR's decision. While talking to his driver over the radio, Gustafson said that NASCAR did not pinpoint the zone where the No. 9 car had reportedly sped. Still, Gustafson advised Chase Elliott to not focus on it and to just keep driving.

"I don’t understand why the rest of the day had been okay," Elliott wondered. "I don’t feel like I was that much different."

To which, Alan Gustafson replied:

"That zone was way off from the get-go. It’s been way off. You know, you’re just flying blind on it. It’s been wrong, so just don’t focus on it. Unfortunately, they didn’t admit their own fault there."

Nevertheless, with just five races to go till the post-season, Chase Elliott is punched into this year's playoffs alongside all his HMS teammates. Tune in to NBC Sports and Peacock to watch Elliott in action this weekend. Fans can also listen to live radio updates on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.