NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Chase Elliott's NASCAR title hopes take big hit with Talladega crash

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Oct 19, 2025 3:36 PM ET

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship hopes of Chase Elliott took a big hit early in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway.

On Lap 52 of Sunday's YellaWood 500, a huge crash occurred at the front of the field when Noah Gragson got turned off the front end of Erik Jones.

Gragson spun into AJ Allmendinger, triggering a multi-car incident that also involved Elliott, Jones, defending YellaWood 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Justin Haley, among others.

Allmendinger's car briefly caught fire, and the veteran driver appeared to be in serious pain after exiting his vehicle.

There's trouble in Turn 3!@chaseelliott is among the cars collected. pic.twitter.com/tNc6D3Gdfh
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 19, 2025

Elliott's No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sustained major damage on its front end after contact with Austin Cindric sent Elliott spinning into the side of Austin Dillon. Elliott's team immediately went to work to try and repair his battered car.

Chase Elliott's title hopes in danger

Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion, will likely have to win the Oct. 26 race at Martinsville Speedway in order to make the Championship 4 and race for his second title. Elliott entered Talladega sixth in the Cup Series playoff standings, 23 points below the cut line.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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