Chase Elliott will start Sunday’s playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC) from the rear of the field after crashing in practice and going to a backup car.
Elliott, who was in Group A, lost control and hit the outside wall after running 15 laps at the 1.5-mile tri-oval. Replay showed that his right-rear tire was flat. Elliott had turned in the fourth-fastest lap at 185.459 mph before the crash.
CRASH: Chase Elliott.
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 14, 2023
Elliott hits the wall in practice. He's competing for the owner's championship for the No. 9 team. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Y7s2vbc5Z7
This will be Elliott’s worst starting position of the playoffs. He also started 29th at Texas and 23rd at Talladega. He finished 11th and seventh in the two races.
The No. 9 Chevrolet is still in the owner championship. The entry is eighth in the standings and 19 points out of the final transfer spot to the Championship 4.
Moments before Elliott’s crash, Kyle Larson came over the radio and voiced concern about possible tire issues. He made it back to pit road where the team discovered a chunk missing from one of his tires.
The tires issues also extended to Group B practice. Daniel Suarez blew a tire and spun into a tire barrier by the inside wall. Track crews had to tow his damaged No. 99 Chevrolet back to the garage. Suarez had turned in the 26th-fastest lap at 182.642 mph while running 31 laps.
Like Elliott, Suarez will also go to a backup car for Sunday’s Cup race at Las Vegas. He will start from the rear of the field at a track where his best finish is eighth in 2018.
Suarez told NBC Sports after leaving the infield care center that he was aware of the tire issues experienced by Larson and Elliott. He said that he wasn’t pushing the car before the right-rear tire blew.
#NASCAR … Daniel Suarez’s wrecked car at Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/KcZf4VEoqt
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) October 14, 2023