Chase Elliott dealt with a flurry of emotions after a crash knocked him and Christopher Bell out of last weekend's Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
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But Saturday at Pocono Raceway, he just expressed happiness about Bell being able to race only one week after fracturing his left wrist.
"The fact that he's racing, like, that would be a tough thing to go on," Elliott told media members. "Wreck a guy, and he ends up missing time.
"So I'm just really happy that he's racing and showing a lot of grit and determination to come back, and hopefully those guys can have a good run as well."
Elliott played an unfortunate role in the crash that injured Bell. His car snapped loose on Lap 148 of the Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway and slammed into Bell's car. This collision sent the No. 20 Toyota into the outside wall in what NASCAR called the hardest hit of the Next Gen era.
Elliott also exited the race after the crash, but he avoided injury. As he told media members, Bell essentially took the brunt of his "mistake."
"I just knew in the moment it was massive, and I watched it happen and was just really concerned about him," Elliott said. "And like I said, I couldn't see him when I got stopped, but when I got stopped, I was very relieved to see him out of the car and standing there, immediately following us kind of getting stopped."
Elliott immediately made his way to his fellow driver after the crash. He checked on Bell and then the two shared a hug.
But the interactions did not end there. They had multiple conversations throughout the week leading up to Pocono Raceway as Elliott just continued to check in.
After all, Bell dealt with multiple injury concerns after a crash, which also included a bruised foot.
Bell could have expressed frustration with Elliott about this crash that injured him, but he did not take this route. He just viewed the crash as a racing incident that happened suddenly in the heat of the moment.
"I can't speak highly enough of Chase as well," Bell said at Pocono. "The moment that he saw me out of the car, he was visibly shaken up and concerned about me.
"I appreciate so much his, demeanor and his thoughts of me and he's reached out several times throughout the week to make sure I'm okay. Obviously, I asked him if he was okay too. He had a big hit as well, but just thankful for all of the love from everybody."
