Elliott advances in NASCAR playoffs with Talladega victory

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — As the stars of NASCAR raged over safety concerns with the new car, rumors swirled the drivers would organize some sort of protest at one of the most dangerous tracks on the circuit.

Perhaps they'd outright boycott Talladega Superspeedway.

Or maybe they'd send their message to NASCAR by refusing to seriously race on Sunday.

But all 37 drivers showed up at their cars as scheduled. It's the playoffs, after all, and there's a championship to be won.

And it was Chase Elliott, NASCAR's most popular driver who a day earlier accused series leadership of taking a step backward in safety, who drove to victory lane and and earned the automatic berth into the third round of the playoffs.

Elliott, who typically avoids controversial conversations, joined the growing chorus of veteran drivers who found NASCAR's slow response to their concerns unacceptable. Alex Bowman, his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, and Kurt Busch missed Sunday's race with concussions and Cody Shane Ware competed with a broken foot. Busch has missed 11 consecutive races.

Rick Hendrick said he wasn't surprised when his 26-year-old superstar took a rare public stance.

“I think these guys are concerned and he sees a teammate hurt, and he's a young guy with a career ahead of him,” Hendrick said. “I think this has been on Chase's mind. I'm proud of him. He doesn't say much, but when he speaks, everybody knows he's not just popping off. He's concerned.”

The race was one of the cleanest in memory at Talladega and certainly the least dramatic through the first five races of the playoffs. NASCAR's new Next Gen car developed a rash of problems in the first four playoff races, and Bowman's concussion seemed to push the drivers to their