Chase Elliott insider gives his verdict on NASCAR fans’ burning question

NASCAR's first road course race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas was a caution-filled event. The race had an overdrawn finish as the final 15 laps had five restarts. Many drivers and fans were left frustrated as the race ended in a triple overtime finish.

The green and white-checkered finish has inspired divided views among fans after the race in COTA. Chase Elliott's spotter Eddie D'Hondt offered a solution to prevent mayhem on the restarts.

In a reply to a tweet, he responded that in the final stage, a single file restart after every caution could fix the issue.

D'Hondt also highlighted another factor that has made the drivers more aggressive. The next-gen cars are strong enough to withstand small bumps without sustaining damage. Hence, Cup Series drivers are slamming into the back of cars instead of braking to slow down for tight turns.

In the Cup Series race in COTA, all of the chaos unfolded in Turn 1 where a majority of the drivers didn't brake on purpose. Thus, most of the incidents occurred at Turn 1 where drivers went three to four wide into the corner.

Most drivers were upset with the way the race ended. Chris Buescher simply termed the race "our first bumper car race of the year." While Austin Dillon stated that this is how typical NASCAR road course races end. He called the restarts a mess where everyone piled up at turn one.

Eddie D'Hondt's solution has looked the most lucrative for fans when compared to many ideas being floated around by experts. D'Hondt might have a valid argument, as he has been around the NASCAR garage for many years and has seen rule changes over the years.

NASCAR has implemented different restart procedures over the years. The current set of rules isn't working as planned, as overtime breeds more caution. The governing body will be forced to act on it sooner or later.

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Jeff Gordon provides an update on Chase Elliott's return to NASCAR

Hendrick Motorsports vice-president Jeff Gordon admitted that Chase Elliott could be behind the #9 car in the upcoming weeks.

Gordon said that the team is sticking to the original six-week recovery timeline announced on March 7, and is evaluating the situation every week.

In response to a question from NBC Sports, Gordon replied:

"I think that’s still the target (six-week recovery), It’s a week-to-week thing based on his doctors and what they’re seeing and how the recovery is going."

Until the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion returns, Xfinity driver Josh Berry is scheduled to drive the #9 Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 9 and at Martinsville Speedway on April 16. Berry has been impressive in his four outings with the team, coming off a second-place finish at Richmond.

If Chase Elliott recovers on time, he could be back for the race at Talladega Superspeedway.