In the world of NASCAR, a single second can feel like an hour. For Chase Elliott, that second didn't just feel long—it felt expensive. We’ve all seen it: the No. 9 car enters the pits looking like a contender and leaves looking like a guy who just watched his playoff hopes evaporate in a cloud of brake dust.
Honestly, being the "Most Popular Driver" has to be exhausting sometimes. Every time Elliott breathes the wrong way on track, it’s a headline. But last season’s slip-ups weren't just about bad luck. They were a mix of uncharacteristic team blunders and high-stakes pressure that left even the most die-hard NAPA fans scratching their heads.
The Las Vegas Nightmare: The Uncontrolled Tire
Let’s get into the meat of it. If you’re looking for a specific Chase Elliott NASCAR mistake that defines how "close but no cigar" his recent championship runs have been, you have to look at Las Vegas.
It was the Round of 8 in late 2025. Elliott rolled into Sin City sitting fourth in qualifying and looked like the car to beat early on. The balance was there. The speed was there. Then came Stage 2.
During a routine service stop, the No. 9 pit crew—a group usually so surgical they could probably perform heart surgery in under 10 seconds—had a total meltdown. An errant tire escaped the workspace and rolled into an adjacent pit stall. In NASCAR’s rulebook, that’s a "stop-and-go" penalty. It’s basically a death sentence for track position on a 1.5-mile intermediate track.
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Elliott had to circle back and serve the penalty, dropping him into the soup of mid-pack traffic. When you’re stuck back there, the air is "dirty," the car drives like a brick, and you’re forced to make desperate adjustments. He finished 18th. Worse, he left Vegas 23 points below the cutline.
Why It Wasn’t Just the Crew
You can’t just blame the guys with the air wrenches. Elliott himself admitted that once he got back into traffic, he "missed a little bit" on his first read of the car's balance. He made a couple of questionable decisions on the final restart, too. It was a snowball effect. One mistake on pit road led to a frantic driver, which led to a bad finish.
The Richmond "Interference" Controversy
Richmond was another weird one. It’s a track where Chase usually excels, but the 2025 Cook Out 400 was a disaster.
Earlier in the race, NASCAR slapped him with a "vehicle interference" penalty. The reason? He clipped Chase Briscoe's pit box while Briscoe was already in it. NASCAR is incredibly protective of the crew members on the ground, so if they think you're getting too close to another team's guys, they're going to pull the trigger on a flag.
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Chase wasn't happy. He basically argued that with the way the front tire carriers stand—often carrying two tires at once—drivers are forced into a narrow lane. He said he’d never intentionally block someone or put a crew member at risk. But the "intent" doesn't matter to the tower. The penalty sent him to the tail of the field. Later that night, he got caught in a wreck with Kyle Busch and DNF'd.
That "Right Rear Hook" at Charlotte
We can't talk about mistakes without mentioning the elephant in the room: the 2023 Coca-Cola 600. While it’s further back in the rearview mirror, it’s the mistake that still follows him because it resulted in a suspension.
After Denny Hamlin squeezed him into the wall off Turn 4, Elliott made a hard left turn into Hamlin’s right-rear quarter panel. It sent Hamlin head-on into the outside SAFER barrier at one of the fastest parts of the track.
- The SMT Data: NASCAR looked at the steering and throttle data. It showed a deliberate left-hand turn.
- The Defense: Elliott claimed the car was broken from hitting the wall.
- The Result: A one-race suspension.
That was a moment of "losing the cool," something the son of "Awesome Bill" from Dawsonville rarely does. It changed the narrative around Chase from being the "calculated technician" to someone who could be rattled.
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The Fuel Calculation Fiasco
The 2023 season was essentially a masterclass in what happens when a team loses its rhythm. After Chase came back from a broken leg (snowboarding, another "mistake" depending on who you ask), the team was desperate for a win to make the playoffs.
At Watkins Glen—a track Chase owns—the team miscalculated the fuel. He ran out of gas while running at the front. It was an absolute gut-punch. While technically a crew chief error by Alan Gustafson, it’s categorized under the broader "No. 9 team mistakes" that kept them out of the championship conversation for a long stretch.
What Fans Get Wrong About These Slips
The biggest misconception is that Chase is "washed" or has lost his edge. If you look at the 2025 stats, he was second in the regular-season points for a reason. He’s incredibly consistent.
The problem isn't a lack of speed. It’s that in the current Next-Gen car era, the margins are so thin that a 2-second delay on pit road or a slightly too-aggressive entry into a pit box can end a season.
Actionable Insights for Following the No. 9
If you’re betting on or following Elliott this year, keep an eye on these three things:
- Pit Entry Sprints: Watch his "green flag" pit stops. That’s where he’s been getting aggressive—and where the penalties live.
- Short Track Frustration: Most of his recent "mental" mistakes have happened at Richmond, Martinsville, and Bristol when he gets stuck in traffic.
- The New Format: With NASCAR shifting away from some elimination-style rounds in 2026, Elliott’s consistency might actually be his biggest weapon again. He doesn't have to "over-drive" the car to survive a single bad night at Vegas.
Chase is still the gold standard for many, but as we saw in the playoffs, even the best can trip over a stray tire. Success in NASCAR isn't just about how fast you go; it's about how few mistakes you leave behind on the asphalt.