Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott saw his race end early on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, as he was hit from behind by Legacy Motor Club's John Hunter Nemechek while trying to fill in what he believed was a big enough gap on the bottom of the race track.
Elliott, who did not score any stage points, had to settle for a 38th place result in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked Bristol, Tennessee oval, meaning that he scored only one point on a night he entered 28 points above the round of 12 cut line.
Given where the other playoff contenders were running, he still found himself 23 points above the cutoff after being taken out of the race. However, on multiple occasions during post-race interviews, he mentioned that he believed his season was over and that he was below the cut line.
Chase Elliott in that TV interview clearly thought he was below the cutoff line. He's not even close though. He's in without a new winner.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) September 14, 2025
Even after being corrected, he still wasn't sure, and he mentioned it again.
.@chaseelliott says he figures his season is over but is told he still has a chance.
— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) September 14, 2025
Here’s what he had to say about the race and wreck: #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/5Bt4PHEc9G
Of course, this inevitably led to several NASCAR fans bringing up the playoff debate, noting that the format needs to change.
I think he just said what many people think: how does this system work? Can we shorten this in future seasons?
— Spencer Adkins (@SpencerWeather) September 14, 2025
Chase Elliott clinches despite thinking he was eliminated
Elliott was indeed the 12th and final driver above the cut line after the wreck, meaning that had teammate Alex Bowman pulled off the win, Bowman would have been in and Elliott would have been out.
However, even that turned out to be false shortly thereafter, as a fire in Austin Cindric's No. 2 Ford resulted in him losing several laps and falling below Elliott on points.
At that point, even if Bowman had won, Elliott still would have been locked in. So after Elliott assumed his season was over, and that he had, for the first time in his 10-year career (and nine playoff appearances) been eliminated in the round of 16, he wound up locking up his ninth career round of 12 spot before the race even ended.
Bowman ended up being eliminated with an eighth place finish, while Cindric had done enough to advance on points despite his late issue.
Elliott is set to start the round of 12 in seventh place in the point standings, placing him five points above the round of 8 cut line.
The opening race of the round of 12 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 21 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. USA Network is set to provide live coverage of the Mobil 1 301 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET, so start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!