Chase Elliott is in a must-win scenario in the Cup playoffs after finishing eighth in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Elliott is 49 points back from the final transfer spot heading to Phoenix Raceway, where the final spot in the championship round will be determined.
A week after the controversial finish at Martinsville Speedway, Elliott ran in the top 10 most of the day Sunday but never contended for the lead.
“Not a very good day for us,” Elliott told NBCSN. “Just never really could find the balance. I don’t know what was wrong. Had (balance) on Friday, didn’t have it yesterday and didn’t have it today. Frustrating afternoon for us, kind of all over the board.”
Both Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson occupy the bottom spots on the playoff grid. Elliott is seventh, 49 points back from the final transfer spot. Johnson is eighth, 51 points back.
With his eighth-place finish, Elliott has placed in the top 10 in all four of his Cup starts at Texas. The 1.5-mile track is where he earned his first Xfinity Series victory in 2014.
“I wish that they hadn’t (re)-paved this place, we ran better here when it wasn’t,” Elliott said.
Watch the full interview above.