Chase Elliott has had a long and very successful NASCAR career. But like any other elite athlete, the 2020 Cup Series champion has had his share of mistakes and failures along the way. Elliott recently opened up about one such failure over a decade ago that bothers him to this day.

Before stepping into the Cup Series, he took part in the Snowball Derby in the early 2010s. In 2013, he won his second Snowball Derby, but it was short-lived. During the post-race inspection, it was revealed that the ballast in his car was made of tungsten instead of lead, which led to his disqualification and handed Erik Jones his second Snowball Derby win.

In a recent interview with Jeff Gluck for The Athletic, the Hendrick Motorsports driver opened up about that incident. When asked about a different decision he would've made in his career, Chase Elliott replied:

"The hardest loss was having that Snowball Derby taken away — that really sucked. I’d love to have that whole situation back; it could have very easily been avoided. Outside of that one, those were great years. And then really, the NASCAR thing started directly after that."

Later in the conversation, Elliott brought up the story again when asked about a serious situation he could look back on and laugh about.

"Going back to the Snowball Derby thing, I say "laugh" lightly. A little. It still hurts. The way that whole thing went down, I can find some humor in it now, how easily it could have been avoided. Looking back, it’s a good lesson in listening to your dad. Not so funny at the time, and I still wish I had that weekend back, but I can see the humor in how it all went down now."

At the time of his DSQ announcement, Elliott had nothing to say to the media, but later made a Twitter (now X) post to summarize how he felt after the loss.

Though that 2013 event might still trouble him, Chase Elliott has since established himself as one of the Cup Series' best drivers.

Chase Elliott reflects on NASCAR title contention in 2026

After eight races, Chase Elliott stands in fifth place in the NASCAR Cup Series championship this season. However, with the Chase format, entering the playoffs will be a relatively different ball game. Drivers need to deliver consistent performances across the season, with the win-and-in system scrapped.

Elliott recently acknowledged the change after his win at Martinsville.

“I know the system’s different [return to the 10-race Chase format this year], and I get all that, but the concept is very much the same," he said (via NASCAR.com). "We still need to perform well throughout the first 26 weeks, and I think when you are able to bank a win early, you kind of have a little bit of a longer runway to continue to put good runs together, stack more points, and get going on the right foot."

The Toyota camp has been the dominating force this season so far. Chase Elliott's Martinsville victory is the only race where a Chevrolet-powered car has emerged triumphant.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yask Kotak