The NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington’s ‘Too Tough to Tame’ race track had all the ingredients of a playoffs opener. Just when you felt the race is going a certain way, or either of two ways, in this case, the tables turned. Martin Truex Jr and Chase Elliott looked set for a battle to the finish for the win before an incident occurred.

The two drivers were involved in a neck-to-neck battle for the lead with just 15 laps remaining. Chase Elliott was running just behind Martin Truex Jr when they made contact while approaching a turn. Both drivers hit the wall simultaneously. The impact was heavy, and that severely affected both their chances and wrecked their finishes.

How Truex Jr and Elliott dominated the race before the incident

Truex Jr was forced to pit just two laps after the incident and eventually finished in 22nd place. Elliott suffered as well and finished in 20th place.

It was a tough pill to swallow for both drivers, who led a combined 311 of the 367 laps in the race. Truex Jr led 196 laps, while Elliott led 115 laps. Truex Jr also won the two stages, giving him two additional playoff points going ahead. Kevin Harvick took advantage of the wreck between Truex Jr and Elliott and won his eighth race of the season.

Truex Jr. and Elliott were gutted to miss out on a crucial win and gave their thoughts on the incident.

“Two guys going for the win” in NASCAR Cup Series playoffs opener

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“I hate it. Thought we were in a good spot,” Elliott said.

“I ran the bottom. There in 3 and 4 just to see if there was anything left down there. That’s kind of what gave him the run and then I just slid up into my left front I felt like. Yeah, on we went,” he added.

Truex Jr gave his assessment of the incident and thought he was in the position to win before he crashed into the wall. “It was nothing intentional. Just two guys going for the win and not enough room for both of us there.

“I really felt like I had the position to get in there to one. That’s how it goes,” Truex Jr said.

Both Truex Jr and Elliott will still be upbeat about their performance, going into the next NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Richmond next week.