Chase Elliott will face a tough battle at Kansas Speedway this Sunday, as an engine issue will force him to start from the rear of the field. The setback comes at a crucial time, with the Hollywood Casino 400 serving as the first race in the Round of 12 in the NASCAR playoffs.
Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet experienced engine trouble during Saturday’s practice. Elliott reported feeling that the car was down a cylinder after coming off Turn 2, noticing an audible change and a significant loss of power. Despite his team’s efforts to diagnose and fix the issue on pit road, they couldn’t fully identify the problem.
“We threw all the things that you can check on pit road,” Elliott explained. “When you have an engine issue like that, it can be difficult to identify what exactly is broken.”
Elliott managed to run 19 practice laps, ending up 15th fastest overall. However, his struggles continued in qualifying, where he completed a lap to scuff the tires but immediately drove to the garage. He qualified 38th of 38 drivers, and with a necessary engine change ahead of Sunday’s race, Elliott will have to start from the back regardless.
This mechanical mishap is particularly ill-timed, as Elliott enters the Round of 12 sitting seventh on the playoff grid, six points above the cutline. A former winner at Kansas in 2018 and with a third-place finish at the track earlier this year, Elliott was poised to make a strong run.
“Such a bummer; what a terrible time to have something go wrong,” Elliott said. “The Hendrick engine shop has been so good throughout my career. I hate it, but I would much rather have it happen today than tomorrow.”
Despite the setback, Elliott remains hopeful that his team can turn things around on race day and keep his playoff hopes alive as he fights through the field at Kansas Speedway.
