“That’s not their fault”: Chase Elliott spares Joey Logano while aiming backhanded criticism at NASCAR’s playoff format

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott defended Team Penske driver Joey Logano, who punched his ticket to the Championship 4 round after winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 20. Logano won as Alex Bowman was disqualified after a failed car inspection. During an interview with NASCAR journalist Matt Weaver, Elliott expressed his thoughts about the situation.

Logano won the race, outperforming race leader Christopher Bell in the final stretch. Logano took the lead by overtaking Daniel Saurez from the inside in the last five laps. He kept racing on the old set of tires and gained the advantage of not pitting in the final moments.

Weaver asked Chase Elliott about the debate surrounding the legitimacy of Logano's advancement to the final round. Elliott blamed the Stock Car Association's format for the same, saying (via Weaver's X):

"It's not Joey's fault. I look at those guys and the job they did this last weekend, and they took a chance, and regardless of how they got in, that was irrelevant to them; they were in, and they took a chance, and it worked out for them. So I think that, you know, while everybody can have mixed emotions or feel this or that, or whatever, this is the format, and you know, who are we or anyone else to blame?"

He added:

"Those guys for doing their jobs and pushing their ticket, and that's not their fault. And I think it's silly of us to, you know, take, you know, take that away from them in any right, because that's what it is. We can't change that, or I can't change that. [00:43]

Chase Elliott mentioned that he doesn't "love" the format. However, he benefited from the format in 2020 and won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship title. He concluded by saying that the format is different from what it used to be, but they need to work with it.

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Chase Elliott expresses his views on Tyler Reddick's flip while being on the brink of elimination

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott ranks in the last spot of the playoff standings and is 53 points shy of the cut line. After a phenomenal performance at the Charlotte Roval, Elliott was suspended at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

During lap 90, Martin Truex Jr. and Elliott made contact and collected a few more cars, including those of Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric, and another playoff driver — Tyler Reddick. This caused a massive wreck on the track and resulted in DNFs for Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski.

In an interview with NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass, Chase Elliott said (via Pockrass' X):

"There wasn't a lot of room there; I certainly understand. There was not a lot of room in the corner at that point in the race. That was a big gamble for him to bank on me recognizing Martin and recognizing that he had a big run up top. There was probably no way that Martin could see that, you know, that late." (1:04)

Only two races are left for the playoff drivers to punch their tickets for the Championship 4 round. Who do you think will advance?