NASCAR Insider Disputes Chase Elliott’s Defense of Miami Pit Road Penalty

NASCAR analyst Jeff Gluck disagrees with Chase Elliott’s explanation regarding a pit road penalty he received during the Homestead-Miami Speedway race. The Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) driver was penalized late in Stage 2, resulting in a restart at the rear of the field for the final stage.

The incident occurred as Elliott entered the pit lane behind Austin Cindric of Team Penske. NASCAR officials deemed that Elliott did not properly merge into the pit lane in a single-file formation, thus violating the rules and incurring the penalty.

Elliott defended his actions, stating that he was forced to move out of line due to insufficient space between his car and Cindric’s. He also claimed to have yielded the position back to Cindric before entering the pit stall, but officials did not agree.

However, Jeff Gluck, a well-respected NASCAR journalist, has offered a contrasting viewpoint after reviewing in-car footage of the incident. Gluck believes that Elliott’s own actions led to the situation.

“Elliott gasses it up real quick to try to close that gap right before entering the pit road,” Gluck explained on Dirty Mo Media. “As he’s gassing up, everybody checks up in front of him and Austin Cindric is right in front of him, so Elliott just kind of goes to left and gets about maybe half a car length up alongside him.”

Gluck further argued that Elliott did not genuinely relinquish the position to Cindric, as he remained alongside the Team Penske driver as they entered pit road.

“As they enter pit road, he’s not like behind Cindric fully, he’s still alongside him a little,” Gluck stated. “So to me, if you’re NASCAR, I don’t think you can say, ‘No, he gave the spot back’…he got out of line, he gained too much ground and he messed up. Despite the convincing argument…it doesn’t look good.”

The penalty significantly hampered Elliott’s race, ultimately resulting in an 18th-place finish, the lowest among the four HMS drivers.

Elliott voiced his frustration over the radio, stating, “Just have them look at it, because I gave the spot back. They all checked up, I moved left to not run in the back of someone and then I gave him the spot back before I even turned down. Just have them look at it. That’s a very reasonable thing.”

While William Byron and Kyle Larson have already secured wins this season, and Alex Bowman achieved his first runner-up finish of the year at Miami, Elliott has yet to reach the podium. Despite a strong performance in the preseason Clash, Elliott has struggled to match the performance of his teammates, even with all HMS teams running the same NextGen car.

Despite Elliott’s early Clash win and current ranking of sixth in the Cup Series standings, his performance has been notably inferior compared to Byron, Larson, and Bowman who occupy the top three spots. The Miami incident serves as a stark reminder of the challenges Elliott faces in consistently competing at the highest level this season.