By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor
After qualifying a dismal 34th on Friday, Chase Elliott set sail on chasing his first-ever Chase berth in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night.
By lap 90, Elliott had worked his way inside the top-15 when an anxious moment ensued.
While Elliott was running three-wide with Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon, Newman made contact with Gordon. The contact sent Gordon into Elliott, which then caused Elliott’s tire to cut down. Elliott would slam into the wall on lap 95, bringing out the third caution of the night.
Elliott slid back to 25th as his crew made repairs under the caution, which made him the final car on the lead lap.
As of lap 108, Elliott’s car appears to just have cosmetic damage, but it will be an interesting storyline to keep an eye on for the remainder of Saturday night’s race.
Reminder: Elliott coming into the night, was one of the 16 drivers currently in Chase contention, but because Elliott hasn’t won a race yet in 2016 he isn’t locked into the Chase just yet. As the race stands currently, he is still in firm possession of a Chase spot, but any more incidents throughout the night could drastically change his playoffs status.
Chase Elliott into the wall.
Things could get interesting… #TheChase https://t.co/ko7tgH8Rvl
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 11, 2016
