ELKHART LAKE, WIS. (AP) - For Chase Elliott, simply being in contention for a victory at an unfamiliar track wasn’t enough.
Instead, Elliott was disappointed about a last-lap mistake that probably cost him a win in Saturday’s ARCA race at Road America — an example of just how much the son of NASCAR icon “Awesome Bill” Elliott expects from himself.
“Pretty disappointed, to be honest with you,” Elliott said afterward. “I feel like we had a car to win, and I always talk about having mistake-free days _ and I didn’t have that.”
Elliott was dicing for the lead with Andrew Ranger on the last lap when the two came to Turn 5, a sharp left-hander at the end of a long straightaway on the four-mile road course in Central Wisconsin. Elliott’s car swerved off line and Ranger got loose as well, allowing Chris Buescher to take the lead and hold on for the win.
“Me and Andrew were just racing really hard, got into Turn 5 a little deep, we both started wheel hopping,” Elliott said, referring to the way a car becomes difficult to control under heavy braking. “And unfortunately when you’re that guy on the bottom, you’re kind of in a tough place when you get to wheel-hopping like that. So just spun around and ended our day. It was just a mistake on my end.”
Elliott finished fourth _ another display of impressive potential for the 17-year-old Elliott, who won the ARCA race at Pocono two weeks ago.
How is his career progressing?
“I’d say I’m happy,” Elliott said. “I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied. I’ve got a lot of room to grow and get better, and that showed today.”
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