Jeff Gordon in Agreement as Chase Elliott’s Risky Gamble Saves the Day

For much of the afternoon at Kansas Speedway, Toyota’s grip on the race appeared unshakable. Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin led the field with authority, with the latter leading 159 laps with the Xfinity fastest lap. But Chase Elliott hovered behind, fighting an uphill battle in a race where raw pace favored Toyota. Jeff Gordon, now Hendrick’s Vice Chairman, later admitted, “those Toyotas were better than us all day.” But a playoff berth was on the line, and team Hendrick knew they needed something unusual to break Toyota’s dominance.

Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, had seen this movie before. Late cautions often create split-second decisions that define legacies. The pit box knew Elliott would not pass the Toyotas on pace alone. Sitting in eighth with two laps to go, expectati