Half a lap into the Hollywood Casino 400 and we already have a wreck. Chase Elliott, Ty Dillon, Harrison Burton, and Josh Berry were involved. Elliott went to pit road with damage but it appears his car is fine. NASCAR chaos.

However, the news isn’t so good for Josh Berry. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver is getting the same treatment as Ryan Blaney at Watkins Glen. NASCAR is making him get out of the race.

Chase Elliott was on the DVP clock but his team told him the car was fine. Elliott is going to have a hard time moving forward after restarting 30th.

Ty Dillon just shot his car in four wide on Lap 1 and wiped out a bunch of cars. You hate to blame one driver like that, but this is what happened here. Dillon will be racing full-time in the Cup Series next year with Kaulig Racing.

Of course, Jimmie Johnson was involved too. Seven-Time always runs into issues during these races. It’s a shame, too. I feel like he just isn’t able to get a good rhythm going before he is in a wreck.

This race is sketchy early on. It wasn’t long after the Lap 1 wreck when we saw Kyle Larson blow a right rear tire and get into the wall. Hendrick Motorsports is having some kind of bad luck right now. Larson and Elliott have been able to continue despite the early damage.

Chase Elliott moved himself up double-digit spots from the green flag after the first caution to the second caution of the afternoon. The No. 9 car is moving on up just fine even with the early wreck.

Chase Elliott started from the rear

Of course, when you have engine issues and start in the rear of the field, things can happen. Racing with the squirrels will cause you to get caught up in someone else’s mess. Chase Elliott avoided disaster and is still racing at Kansas. That’s all that matters.

This season, Elliott has only two finishes outside of the top-20. One of those was a DNF. This season, Elliott has shown a knack for consistency, but his top-5 and winning speed has been lacking all season long.

Outside of the race at Texas, which he won, Elliott hasn’t really been a threat to win. Like, any race. What he has been able to do is build up points and, from a points position, put himself in the front of the field.

My one concern about Chase Elliott in the playoffs is his lack of winning speed. It is almost impossible to win the Cup Series championship without being able to win or almost win at Phoenix.

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