Chase Elliott furious at Ross Chastain after Darlington crash

Ahead of Sunday’s race in Darlington, the Goodyear 400, the pre-race field was set with William Byron at the pole position and Chase Elliott starting 15th. Ross Chastain started further back in 25th place. Now, a new video making the rounds on social media shows Elliott unhappy with Ross Chastain after the Xfinity Series race at Darlington. The video, posted by NASCAR content creator Break Hard on X, captures Elliott's visible frustration following on-track contact involving Chastain.

Though Elliott finished the race, the contact hurt his chances of contending. Chase Elliott, driving the No. 17 car for Hendrick Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, wasn’t the only one upset. Bell, another Cup Series regular, was also involved in a separate tangle with Chastain during the race. The video was shared on X with the caption,

“Chase Elliott showing some displeasure with Ross Chastain. Just something about Ross and Hendrick drivers at Darlington.”

Post-race, Ross Chastain did admit to causing contact with another driver, Christopher Bell, saying he "pinched him for sure" and should’ve given more room. But when asked about the incident with Elliott, Chastain claimed he gave Elliott enough space. However, the latter didn’t see it that way.

Chastain, who placed fourth behind race winner Brandon Jones, continues to draw criticism for his driving style. And while he often apologizes after incidents, many drivers— Elliott included—seem to feel it’s not enough if the same problems keep happening. After the race, Elliott’s team expressed frustration as well. According to Steve Taranto on X, Chase Elliott said,

"We're gonna have to pay that sh*t back, because I'm over people like that constantly doing dumb sh*t. So, when we get a chance to send him, we're sending that 1 car." (0:12 onwards)

At Darlington in particular, tensions with Ross Chastain and Hendrick drivers have become a pattern. In 2023, he tangled with Kyle Larson in a Cup race at the same track.

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“We’ve rode the horse to death” – Chase Elliott on NASCAR’s Throwback Weekend

Chase Elliott also made headlines with his candid views on NASCAR’s “Throwback Weekend.” Speaking to reporters at Darlington, the NASCAR driver didn’t hide his thoughts. He said the tradition, which has been running since 2015, has outlived its excitement.

The annual event, held at Darlington Raceway, features retro paint schemes and uniforms that pay tribute to NASCAR legends. But according to Elliott, the whole concept lost its charm about four or five years ago. He believes the sport has dragged it on too long. He joked,

“If we kept going down the road, we're going to be throwing it back to me in like 2018,” [0:16]

He added that NASCAR sometimes pushes ideas too far. The 2020 Cup Series champion made it clear that while the idea was fun at first, it’s now just repetitive.

This year, Elliott ran a tribute paint scheme based on Ken Schrader’s 1994 No. 25 Kodiak Chevrolet. Schrader was a Hendrick Motorsports driver in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Elliott’s #9 UniFirst Chevrolet honored that era, but the driver himself seemed indifferent to the tradition.