Chase Elliott 'broke something' after contact during Busch Light Clash

Right when he was getting some momentum, Chase Elliott found himself not knowing what was wrong with his car, at first. Elliott had to pull off the track at the NASCAR Busch Light Clash after a suspension issue caused his steering to go out.

Not the start to 2024 that Chase Elliott had in mind. He was hoping to have a strong showing in this event but now he’s out of the race. Now, Elliott will start the year with a DNF on his record.

You can see Elliott’s crew working hard to fix the issue. However, it was too much for them to overcome.

Problems for Chase Elliott & he’s getting the No. 9 checked out in the #BuschLightClash infield. pic.twitter.com/Rd930i7zt0

— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) February 4, 2024

Elliott told his crew “broke something here,” and it turned out to be the suspension.

"Broke something here."
Chase Elliott

"What happened, Chase?"
"Steering left front"

Caution

Ross Chastain, Corey Lajoie, Bubba Wallace

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) February 4, 2024

Chase Elliott found some speed at times but wasn’t as quick as others in this race. His teammates, Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Alex Bowman all seemed to have an easier time around the small track at the LA Coliseum.

If nothing else, Elliott needs to be able to keep pace with his teammates. It is hard to end the day with a DNF, but Elliott and his team will pick up the pieces, go home, and prepare for the Daytona 500.

Chase Elliott goes down after midrace break

The halfway point of this race provided us with a caution flag and a break in the race. Drivers stayed in their cars, but for about 20 minutes we had a pause. Instead of a concert, we were treated to some talk from the Fox Sports crew.

Chase Elliott made it to the halfway point, but didn’t make it much further than that after the restart. Drivers waited until the halfway point to get really physical. They have to try and beat the rain that is threatening to come in and shorten this race if it doesn’t get finished quickly.

As the race gets closer to the end, we are going to see these drivers get more aggressive. Ty Gibbs just might be too much to overcome, though. He has put a huge distance on himself and the field. These Toyotas are fast and didn’t come to play this season in the new Camry XSE.

Is this a sign of what is to come for Chase Elliott? Or is this just a little bit of bad luck to start the season in Los Angeles?