Chase Elliott was adamant on Tuesday that there is no issue between him and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, although Elliott was frustrated with the contact coming off pit road at Kansas Speedway.
“There’s a lot that goes on,” Elliott said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We obviously ran into each other on pit road, and I didn’t have the full picture of what went on, so I was frustrated. That stuff happens, for sure. But at the end of the day, I’ll certainly take the blame for my frustration on that front.
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“The good news is, he and I can have a conversation like adults and it’s a non-issue. The bad news is, it’s a non-issue for all of y’all and everybody that wants to talk about it. There’s nothing to talk about.”
Elliott and Larson made contact while leaving pit road after the final pit stop before overtime when put in a four-wide situation as Brad Keselowski exited his pit stall. Keselowski was on the left of Larson, and when he pulled out of his stall, it forced Larson to make a move to the right into Elliott, who was side-by-side with Tyler Reddick.
Moments later, Elliott turned left into Larson as the two continued to make their way onto the track. Elliott walked over to Larson’s car after the race to discuss the incident, and initially had told the media in Kansas he wasn’t trying to send a message by hitting Larson’s car.
“Our relationship’s actually been good, we have a lot of dialogue,” Elliott said of Larson. “We talked about it there after the race and that was it. There’s nothing more to really even discuss. When you talk about things, and you get the full picture of what’s going on, and you have a discussion like adults, there’s really no need for anything else. And neither he or I care about what is said during the week. At the end of the day, I think we’re both pretty performance-driven and motivated, and that’s where our focus is and will continue to be.”
Larson finished fourth and Elliott finished sixth in the Hollywood Casino 400.
Elliott is not eligible for the driver’s championship but is in the hunt for the owner’s championship with his No. 9 Chevrolet. Larson led the most laps Sunday and is already clinched into the second round of the playoffs.
“I knew we were three-wide leaving and the 6 [Keselowski] is pitted in front of us, and I was trying to leave as much space as I can,” Larson said on Sunday.
“He’s coming out into the lane quickly because he wants to slow us down, and I tried to leave as much space as I could. Obviously, I made contact with (Elliott) but I felt like if I didn’t, I was going to clobber the 6 right in the right front, and I thought the safest bet for all of us was for me to squeeze out a little bit.
“I understand why he’s mad, or was mad in the moment. I hope when he sees the replay he understands I didn’t have any space, or not much, just inches. Just a bummer, but I’m glad neither of us got torn up there, and we could get a good finish.”