Chase Elliott only has 10 races remaining to punch his ticket to the playoffs. This is a challenge, but the 2020 Cup Series champion is embracing the challenge with a new mindset.
As Elliott explained, the trip to Sonoma Raceway was a significant event for him and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team. They reached the second round of qualifying, which was a change from much of the 2023 season, and they performed well en route to a fifth-place finish. Now, he feels that they can ride that momentum to the playoffs.
“I think that cadence and that stride that we executed with in Sonoma can result in great results from here to Daytona,” Elliott said during a press conference at Nashville Superspeedway.
“Like I said, we’re in a tough spot, but I think it’s a great opportunity to go and have some fun and embrace the challenge. That’s really kind of where my head’s at.”
The Types of Upcoming Tracks Provide Extra Confidence
GettyChase Elliott sees opportunities ahead of him & the No. 9 team.
Simply turning in a strong performance at Sonoma Raceway was significant for Elliott. These have been few and far between during the 2023 season as he has missed seven races — six for injury and one for suspension.
Elliott has five top-10 finishes in nine races, headlined by a runner-up at Auto Club Speedway. He also has strong performances at Kansas Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Darlington Raceway, which adds some extra confidence as he approaches the variety of summer tracks.
“Kansas was a high spot, Fontana was a high spot, Sonoma was also very good,” Elliott added. “Three very different style of tracks, so that brings some positivity to my mind that it’s there. We just have to extract it here every week for the next 10.”
Kansas, Martinsville, and Darlington don’t return to the schedule until the playoffs, but there are some other tracks that are similar. This includes Nashville, Michigan, Richmond, and New Hampshire. Elliott also returns to Atlanta, the site of a previous win. Mixing in some road courses — Indianapolis and Watkins Glen — only provides more opportunities.
Avoiding the Potential for Chaos is Critical
There are several races where Elliott will be among the favorites to win due to his past success. His goal is to capitalize on some of these opportunities while avoiding one particular scenario.
“Certainly don’t want to go to Daytona and be in the position to have to win a speedway race to get into the playoffs,” Elliott said. “Odds are if you’re in that position, you’re probably not going to be much of a threat anyway, in my opinion. We want to be a threat each week from here on, and I intend to do that.”
This must-win situation is one that has bitten other drivers in the past. Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, William Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brad Keselowski, and Chris Buescher are only some examples of drivers that have faced this situation in recent seasons.
Byron and Dillon have both won their way into the playoffs at Daytona International Speedway. The other drivers have failed to achieve this goal due to crashes or simply failing to cross the finish line first.
Dillon is actually someone that has been on both sides of this scenario. He won the 2022 regular-season finale and reached the playoffs, but he crashed on the final lap of the 2021 regular-season finale and lost the final spot to then-teammate Tyler Reddick.
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Chase Elliott Embraces the Challenge of Pivotal Stretch