Chase Elliott stand-in Jordan Taylor describes the final two laps of his COTA 2023 NASCAR race

Jordan Taylor had a rollercoaster ride in his debut Cup Series race at the Circuit of the Americas. Filling in for the injured Chase Elliott, the road course ringer qualified fourth, ahead of his teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman.

However, Taylor couldn't replicate Saturday's success on race day as he wasn't used to the tricks used by regular Cup Series drivers. Taylor, who was 10th on the final restart, lost positions rapidly after the green flag dropped and finished the race in 24th position.

The three-time IMSA champion was taken aback by the pushes and bumps he had to deal with on the restarts. In a post-race interview with Bob Pockrass, Jordan Taylor admitted:

"Every restart was kind of the same, it was trying not to get smashed in the back or the side, and you almost had to be the aggressor to not get smashed in the back."

The 31-year-old's attempts to emulate the regular drivers went in vain as he lost positions in the last two laps. He added:

"I tried to be the aggressor and I guess I left one lane open and I’m not sure who went down the inside, but they were never going to make the corner. They used us as their brake and wiped out a bunch of guys."

Despite finishing in the 24th position, Taylor showed strong pace throughout the race. The evening started on a worrying note for Taylor as he was unable to communicate with the team due to radio issues. He was eighth at the end of the first stage and was out of the top ten at the end of the second stage.

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Jordan Taylor expected Cup Series drivers to be more respectful

While Jordan Taylor has been a long-time fan of NASCAR and its style of racing, he definitely wasn't prepared for what would unfold once he took the wheel of the #9 Chevrolet. The 31-year-old stated that he drove most of the race in survival mode even though the car had the potential to finish in the top ten.

Speaking about the on-track battles with regular drivers, Jordan Taylor revealed that he expected his competitors to be more respectful. He said:

"Guys don't really plan on making clean moves, I kind of expected it to be a little bit more respectful. I think they just go and expect you to get the car stopped. So It's just an experience thing. I should have probably known that, watching the years past and probably be more of the aggressor trying to push guys and not be the guy getting pushed."

Even though the road course specialist got bogged down in the race, Hendrick Motorsports were happy with his performance.