Late battle gone wrong between Truex, Elliott kicks off playoffs at Darlington

The postseason drama has officially begun. With 13 laps remaining in Sunday’s NASCAR Playoffs opener at Darlington Raceway, Chase Elliott led with Martin Truex Jr. hot on his tail. Truex did catch up to Elliott, and when he did, Truex went low to make his pass for the lead. He was close to pulling it off, but close proximity is the exact reason he failed to do so. The rear of Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota clipped the nose of Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Both cars hit the wall. Winning chances were dashed. RELATED: Race results “It’s Darlington and typically you don’t want to go in side-by-side,” Truex said. “I felt like I had enough of a run and enough space there that the last foot or so he was going to understand that if I was committed, we both weren’t going to make it. Typically, here that’s kind of how you race. If a guy gets a run on you and he’s just about got you cleared, you have to give that last little bit. … Basically, when I made up my mind and I was driving it in there and then he drove in on my right-rear quarter, there was no possible way that we both weren’t crashing.” Truex won both stages and led a race-high 196 of 367 laps – only to finish 22nd. Elliott placed third and 13th in the two stages, was out front for 114 laps and ultimately crossed 20th after the checkered flag waved. RELATED: Martin Truex on late contact with Chase Elliott Kevin Harvick ended up winning the Cook Out Southern 500, the first of three Round of 16 races. He was credited with the lead from Lap 355 on, holding control as Truex and Elliott faded back. “(Truex) had a run on me there off of (Turn) 4 and he just kind of cleared himself into 1,” Elliott said. “He was close, but he wasn’t all the way clear, obviously. I hate it, obviously we had a fast NAPA Camaro -- fast enough to contend. We needed a little pace there to extend our lead instead of playing defense, but regardless I thought we were in a good spot. I ran the bottom in three and four to see if there was anything left down there, that’s what kind of gave him the run and then he just slid up in to my left front, I felt like and on we went.” RELATED: Chase Elliott reacts to late contact with Martin Truex When it comes to the postseason, Truex and Elliott remain safe. Truex is sixth and 16 points above the cutline. Elliott is seventh and 12 points to the good. Two races remain before four of the 16 drivers are eliminated. First up: Richmond Raceway (Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Then, Bristol Motor Speedway. Keep an eye on Elliott for possible retaliation. “It was only a few inches,” Truex said. “A few inches, you either wreck or you give it to the guy. I felt like I was on the right side of things. But I’ll have to go back and look at it to see if there was something I could have done different. Again, really proud of everyone. Obviously had the car to beat.”