Chase Elliott beaten to $30,000 prize money by Pollard in the 2023 Battle at Berlin

Star NASCAR driver Chase Elliott came home with a second-place finish at the 2023 Battle at Berlin, with Bubba Pollard emerging victorious to claim the $30,000 prize money.

The 250-lap Super late model race at Berlin Raceway on Wednesday night saw Elliott fight hard at the front. However, Pollard fended off the valiant charge by the Hendrick Motorsports driver on the short track.

As the two men from Georgia battled at the front, it was Senoia native who beat the NASCAR ace from Dawsonville. Despite losing the race, Elliott was happy with the progress he had made and welcomed the break from his recent struggles in the Cup Series.

"It was a lot more than I've been having, so that was good... Feel like we actually made some progress tonight so that was good. Obviously, Bubba was really good, so congrats to him he did a great job as always," he said post-race

"But I thought we were a little closer to him tonight, so looking forward to the next one," he added.

Behind the two Georgia natives, Evan Shotko finished third. SHR-bound Josh Berry was classified fourth and Elliott's HMS teammate William Byron finished seventh.

Erik Jones, who is having quite a run of form in recent NASCAR races finished on the fringes of the top 10 as he was classified 11th.

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Chase Elliott reviews his race at Berlin Raceway

Racing on one of the hardest and most technical short tracks, a second-place finish was a huge confidence boost for Chase Elliott. The NASCAR ace fared well grueling 250-lap race at Berlin Raceway, where tire conservation was key.

Elliott spoke about the evening as he congratulated Bubba Pollard for the victory saying that he was not bummed about his result.

“I think I just got too tight when the sun went down. But it was a lot better than we’ve been. So that was good. Bubba (Pollard) did a great job as always, so congrats to him. Kinda cool, you know, couple of Georgia guys came up here, have a good night so never ever too bummed about that…” he said in a post race interview with Sportsnaut.

Chase Elliott added that Wednesday's race at Berlin was different from his previous outings but felt there was relative progress.

“I feel like we have actually made some gains tonight, so that was fun… Our car driving a little differently than it has been driving at other races. So I feel like that, there’s hopefully a little bit of progress. I’m not sure when my next one would be or whatever…”

Chase Elliott will now be heading to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Verizon 200, where he desperately seeks his first win of the season.