Chase Elliott says he is looking forward to getting back to racing after serving a one race suspension for intentionally crashing Denny Hamlin during the Coca-Cola 600 on May 29.
“I think certainly it was an unfortunate circumstance on many accounts,” Elliott told NASCAR.com via a teleconference. “And I hate that we’re in the position that we’re in. Obviously, it’s been a pretty wild year, even prior to last week or two weeks ago. But yeah, look, I mean, I hate that I put our team and our partners and our fans and all the folks that make this go in a tough spot. Certainly glad Denny’s OK, and I understand NASCAR’s call and what they felt like they needed to do. So I respect all that.”
The suspension meant that Elliott has now missed seven races in 2023, six due to broken leg suffered in a snowboarding accident, and now one due to his suspension. Elliott said he’s now ready to get back to the track, and win.
“For me personally, just looking forward to getting back to work and just trying to get in a groove because I don’t really feel like I’ve been in one throughout the year,” Elliott said. “It’s been kind of stop-and-go all season, unfortunately. But the way I see it is there’s 11 races left (in the regular season), and we pretty much need to go win one of those to get in the show. So that’s where my head’s at right now.”
Elliott will return to racing this weekend at Sonoma, a race where he finished second last year.
“I think we can go out there and win for sure,” said Elliott. “We had a pretty solid run there last year. We weren’t the best I didn’t think, but we were fast enough to contend. And I think that being said, I also know the areas we could be better in leaving there last year, so I have a lot of confidence in the direction that I think we need to go in and what we need our car to do to be more successful there this year.”
The full teleconference can be seen here.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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