CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Denny Hamlin-Chase Elliott incidents that transpired at Martinsville Speedway and ISM Raceway in Phoenix toward the end of last season prompted Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson to tell SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Jan. 12 that he thought it “shortened (Elliott’s) fuse and got him to a point where he felt like he was being … taken advantage of.”
Elliott, 22, addressed his crew chief’s comments on Tuesday at NASCAR Media Tour Presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway, as the series readies to kick off its 2018 season with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18.
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“I think there were times, not just in that situation, that I was a little taken advantage of in how I race people and maybe with too much respect at times, and I think that’s what he was getting at with that comment,” Elliott said. “And I do think there was probably some truth to that.
“So, at some point, you either stand up for yourself or you continue to get taken advantage of. I’d rather choose Option A over B.”
Now in his junior season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Elliott later spoke on racing drivers differently looking at it from the perspective of a rookie, young driver coming into the sport.
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“Every circumstance is going to be different,” the Hendrick Motorsports driver said. “It could be something small, it could be a restart at a certain point in the race and you know the guy’s going to try to take you three-wide just because of who you are.
“So, at some point in time, if you stop that from happening enough, he’s probably going to think twice about doing it to you. I think that’s just what goes around, comes around, and if you stop someone from taking advantage of you enough, they probably won’t do it anymore.”