NASCAR's Chase Elliott Says He's Glad 'No One Got Hurt' During Ross Chastain's Risky Racing Move

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Chase Elliott was sitting pretty on the final lap of NASCAR's regular-season finale at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 30 when one of the biggest surprises in recent racing memory happened.

Having essentially secured his spot in the "Championship Four" barring any last-lap chaos, the Georgia native says he was trying to stay out of trouble when he saw fellow NASCAR driver Ross Chastain speed by on his right.

Chastain was riding the rails of the short track in the hopes that he, too, could come from behind to score his chance to compete for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion title. He later said he learned the move from a video game he played more than 15 years before, per NBC Sports.

"I wasn't super surprised," Elliott quietly told PEOPLE in a recent interview about the last lap move that has since gone viral with over 1.4 million views on YouTube. "I really wasn't."

Elliott's subdued reaction to Chastain's antics hinted that he wasn't happy about the risky move, which moved Chastain from 10th to 5th place.

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"I'm just glad the fence didn't come apart and the crossover bridge didn't open up and nobody got hurt, you know?" 26-year-old Elliott said.

"I think that was the biggest thing. If something like that had happened, obviously the narrative would've been a little bit different, but nobody really cares about that at this juncture," he added.

During Sunday's Championship 4 race, Elliott spun out after he and Chastain touched with 113 laps to go.

In an interview after the race, Elliott— who was the youngest driver competing at the Phoenix Raceway event — said he hoped to "come back stronger" next season.

"It's kind of hard to believe I'm the youngest," Elliott said of his fellow competitors in the race, including 27-year-old Christopher Bell, 29-year-old Chastain, and 32-year-old Joey Logano.

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He continued: "It's crazy to think that this is my seventh year in (the NASCAR) Cup (Series.) But being the youngest, I mean, I don't think it really matters, to be honest with you. Regardless of one's age, you can still have a lot of experience and the necessary experience that you need to go and be successful. And I think all the candidates have plenty of experience in racing in general."

Certainly, the top four competitors have needed that experience this year, as they have all had to adapt to NASCAR's new Next Gen car, which was initially created "to honor stock car racing's roots with bodies that better resemble their street versions while incorporating new vehicle technology and innovation."

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"This year has been such a reset for our sport with this car," said Elliott, who won the very first Championship 4 race at Phoenix in 2020 to claim his first and only title. "I've been fortunate enough to be a part of the Final Four for two years prior to this, but the road to getting there has been super different every year. That has been kind of unique and I guess odd in some ways. But yeah, it's been a different path every time."

Certainly, if anyone had the pedigree to master anything thrown at him on the track, it's been Elliott, son of the legendary driver Bill Elliott. But Elliott said he doesn't just turn to his father for advice.

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"My mom has had a huge impact on my career and has worked extremely hard trying to help me in any way that she can, much like my dad has," said Elliott, who was featured in the Race for the Championship season finale on USA Network and Peacock.

"The people around you make a big difference in your life," he added, "and I feel like I've been fortunate to have some really good ones."