MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Chase Elliott‘s title hopes took a massive hit when his car suffered a catastrophic mechanical problem during a pit stop Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
Elliott had worked his way from the back of the field inside the top-five until he stopped for a routine service. His Chevrolet lurched as he pulled away and he radioed in to his Hendrick Motorsports crew that he believed he had a broken axle.
Elliott returned to pit road for lengthy attempts at a repair before he finally drove his car to the garage for more intense work. It dropped him to last in the field by the end of the second stage.
Although Elliott qualified second, he had to drop to the back of the field at the start because his engine failed just five laps into the first practice session Saturday. His car was clearly fast enough to recover for a solid finish until the mechanical issue.
Elliott returned to the track down 52 laps from the leaders and in a must-win situation either next week at Texas or in the elimination race of the third round of the playoffs at ISM Raceway outside Phoenix. Only four drivers will advance to the Nov. 17 title-deciding race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.