Desert dust-up for Dillon, Elliott rekindles rivalry

"I'm trying to win the race, too," Dillon said after finishing sixth in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. "There's two on the track ... needless to say, we've gotten into each other before and I might race him a little bit harder because of what he did to me a couple of years ago. Until I feel like we're on equal playing ground again, I'm still going to race him hard."

Elliott, the defending XFINITY Series champion, and Dillon made contact in Turn 2 on Lap 139 of the 200-lap race as the pair were battling for sixth place. While Dillon's entry appeared undamaged, Elliott spun off the banking and onto the apron, necessitating a trip to pit road under caution.
 
The stop dropped the JR Motorsports driver outside the top 15 on the restart, but he was able to fight his way back to finish seventh in the closing laps.
 
"I like Chase outside the car, he's a good dude," Dillon said. "But he took me out of the championship two years ago and I think he still needs to understand that I haven't forgotten."
 
Dillon was leading coming to the checkered flag in the Camping World Truck Series event at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in 2013 when Elliott shot to his inside in the final turn and spun the leader out.
 
Elliott, running a limited schedule at the time, won the event. Afterward, in Victory Lane, the son of 1988 premier series champ Bill Elliott seemed apologetic for the contact, saying "That's not how I race and it's never been how I've raced before. I had a shot. ... Sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do to try to get to Victory Lane."
 
Dillon was fourth in points at the time, trailing leader Matt Crafton by 58. The incident, and 17th-place finish, dropped him 63 behind the leader.
 
Immediately following Saturday's incident at PIR, Elliott told his crew via radio he felt Dillon pinched him down on the track.
 
Dillon moved atop the points standings with his finish, and leads second-place Chris Buescher (Roush Fenway Racing) by 14 (156-143) after four races.
 
Elliott improved one position, from fifth to a tie for fourth, and is 25 points out of the lead.
 
"Whether or not it was either one of us driving in too hard, driving hard, we're both racing hard, we both want to win this championship," Dillon said.
 
"I expect him to stick it in there, but I'm going to hold it there. That's what I expect out of him for many more years so hopefully we'll race each other in (Sprint) Cup and race for championships the same way and bring back a little bit more excitement to the sport."

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