Chase Elliott engine issues force him to the rear of NASCAR Cup Series field at Kansas

Chase Elliott is going to start in the rear of the field at Kansas after his team made an engine change due to losing a cylinder in practice. Hendrick Motorsports is hoping this is not an issue that spreads to their other NASCAR drivers.

Just to put down a time and not get a DNS in qualifying, Chase Elliott did put down a lap time. He was incredibly off the pace as his car only had seven of eight cylinders firing.

Of course, Hendrick had to make the engine swap. There is no way they can race with an engine that is hurt that badly. Elliott qualified dead last anyway, but this just confirms where he will be placed in the order.

Chase Elliott has been quietly great this season. He was in contention for the regular season championship. Despite only having a single win, he is having one of the most consistent seasons of his entire career.

Only twice this season has Elliott finished outside of the top-20 and one of those was an early DNF at Daytona a few weeks ago. He is having a season much like Matt Kenseth did on his way to the championship in 2003. But Elliott has the challenge of the playoff format to deal with, it won't be as easy as scoring the most points.

While Kyle Larson is flashy and makes bold moves, wins a lot of stages, and races – he wrecks. He gets himself in trouble. Chase Elliott doesn't do that. He is steady and confident on the track and is able to take care of his equipment when he maybe doesn't have the best speed.

Chase Elliott picks the Dawgs over Roll Tide

Today, Chase Elliott did his job in practice and qualifying and got it over with so he can get ready for Georgia-Alabama tonight. The son of Awesome Bill from Dawsonville definitely has a bias, but the NASCAR driver has made his official pick today .

Everyone knows that Chase Elliott is a Georgia boy. It's hard for him to pick against his bulldogs.

So, he didn't. When asked by Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports , Elliott had to stick to his guns. Despite Georgia struggling against my Kentucky Wildcats last week, the NASCAR star has confidence in his team.

"The Dawg fan in me is definitely picking the Dawgs, so we'll see," Chase Elliott said with a smile.

When Chase Elliott won the Cup Series championship in November 2021, Georgia went on to win the College Football Playoffs that following January. So, Bulldogs fans should be hoping to see Elliott advance in the playoffs.