NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, Chase Elliott, is out of the Coca-Cola 600.
The Dawsonville, Georgia-native retired from Sunday’s event after 89 laps, when his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 snapped loose at the exit of Turn 2, spinning down the backstretch and hitting the inside SAFER Barrier.
After being towed back to the NASCAR Cup Series garage, Hendrick Motorsports and Alan Gustafson, crew chief on the No. 9 Chevrolet, decided that the damage was too extensive to return to the racetrack, declaring their night over.
“My balance had been that way for a bit, and I was just trying to push and find some pace. I felt like we were bleeding out really bad, and trying to make something happen. Unfortunately, I stepped over the line and made a mistake,” Elliott told Prime Video after exiting the infield care center. “It’s super unfortunate, man, I feel like I have spent way more than. I’ve watched more of these Coca-Cola 600s from the couch than I have been a part of, it’s just been a horrendous race for me throughout the course of my career, so I’m just really bummed.”
Elliott, following tonight’s Coca-Cola 600, has crashed out of NASCAR’s longest race in three of the last five seasons. However, in both 2024 and 2025, Elliott recorded finishes of sixth and seventh in the Memorial Day Weekend event.
“[I] apologize to everybody at [Hendrick Motorsports] and the No. 9 team,” Elliott added. “I just made a mistake, got over my head, and paid for it.”
The 30-year-old driver enters Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 sitting third-place in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, 145 points behind series leader, Tyler Reddick. Earning no stage points, the Hendrick Motorsports driver likely won’t leave Charlotte in the same position.
