Just a handful of races in and the NASCAR Cup Series has already been a wild one.
We’ve seen Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, and Chase Briscoe all win their first Cup Series race, Denny Hamlin is struggling, and Chase Elliott is currently leading in points although I’m not sure if I can even remember hearing his name in a race this year.
He managed to finish 4th yesterday at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, his first Top 5 finish of the season. Although he quietly has finished in the Top 10 more than any other driver.
He’s been a sneaky one this season… not making headlines, but finishing up near the front. And it’s got him in first place.
Kyle Busch on the other hand spun out on the last lap and settled for a 28th place finish, however, thanks to Chase Elliott, it wasn’t his first twirl of the day.
During Stage 1, Chase Elliott sent Busch spinning out, and needless to say, Busch wasn’t happy about it:
However, according to NASCAR.com, Elliott took full responsibility for that one:
“I messed up. I got crossed up in the braking zone and hit him.
Obviously, we were racing for last and probably weren’t even racing for stage points and I think he knows me better than that.
But yeah, that was completely on me… and my fault.”
No harm no foul, I suppose…
While Ross Chastain, AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman were battling for the checked flag, Elliott managed to sneak into 4th, giving him a 13-point lead on Ryan Blaney.
Meanwhile, Kyle Busch who ran well for most of the day, spun out again on the last lap, dropping him to a 28th place finish.
And those exciting final laps:
