Chase Elliott advances into next playoff round despite rare DNF at Bristol

Chase Elliot 's NASCAR Cup race at at Bristol came to an abrupt end after 311 laps of racing. After getting shuffled out of line, he tried to get back down to the bottom as John Hunter Nemechek rapidly closed in.

Contact was made and Elliott's No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet careened into the outside wall, ending his race in an instant. It was just Elliott's second DNF of the entire season, and it came an incredibly inopportune moment. 

Bristol is the first elimination race in the playoffs, and Elliott quickly fell down onto the hot seat. The good news was that no driver could reach him on points, but a win from one of those below the cutline could end Elliott's 2025 title run.

Of the four drivers that could have done so, only one was in contention -- Elliott's Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman. While Bowman did not ultimately win the race, Elliott was able to breathe easy once Austin Cindric had his own misfortune, putting him back on the bubble.

When he was first released from the infield care center, Elliott was a bit confused about his points position, believing himself to be in a much dire situation.

As for the incident, he saw it unfold like this: “The No. 22 [Joey Logano] got position on me. I thought I was doing the smart thing just trying to get back to the bottom. I guess I thought I was clear back down in line. I visually saw the gap, so I just tried to get back in line and I got a huge shot from behind. I’m not sure if the No. 42 [Nemechek] got pushed in there [by Denny Hamlin] or he wasn’t expecting me to come back to the bottom or what the reasoning was, but nonetheless, it happened and it’s done.”

As the points reset for the Round of 12, Elliott, who won the title back in 2020, is now seventh in the standings and just five points above the new cut line.