“Was a Big Deal for Us”: Why a Strong Finish Fuels Chase Elliott’s Optimism Heading Into New NASCAR Season

Chase Elliott secured his spot in the 2024 postseason, marking his eighth appearance in a decade-long NASCAR Cup Series career last year. Rebounding from a tumultuous start to 2023 when injuries and a penalty sidelined him for seven races, Elliott advanced to the Round of 8 and finished seventh in the standings at the end of the season, capturing one race win throughout the year.

Discussing how the strong finishes in 2024 have bolstered his confidence for the upcoming season, Elliott reflected, “There was definitely a lot of high spots there in the closing weeks. Just thought we were right in the mix and right where we needed to be in a lot of categories. So, it was just refreshing I think for all of us just to kind of get in a really good groove there.”

Despite falling short of progressing to the Championship Four round, Elliott and his team found several positives to build upon from last year. Consistency was their foundation throughout the season, accentuated by a late-season surge that nearly propelled the #9 team to their second championship title, or at least in contention.

In the final stretch, the Dawsonville native’s performance intensified, securing 7 top-10 finishes and 4 top-5s in the last 10 races, a significant improvement over the 4 top-10s and 1 top-5 he achieved in the previous 10 races. The strong finishes have set a solid groundwork for potential future success for the team.

P-last 👉🏼 P9. On to Talladega 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/uNDQeEGzPq

— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) September 30, 2024

Expanding on the same, he added, “Wish we had gotten one spot better there, one of those weeks, but I think just being in the mix and having that type of run in the closing weeks was a big deal for us.”

Elliott started the year with 19 consecutive top-20 finishes, leading the Cup Series drivers in this statistic with 32 top-20s, three more than any other driver. His average finish of 11.7 was also the best among all full-time competitors.

Entering his 10th full season in the Cup Series, these statistics are not just numbers but a morale booster for Elliott as he gears up for another competitive year.

Elliott’s expectations from the 2025 season

As Elliott looks ahead to the 2025 season, he finds confidence in the solid foundation underneath him. The 29-year-old seems optimistic that maintaining their late 2024 momentum will position Hendrick Motorsports’ #9 crew for championship contention. His current focus is sharpening their competitive edge consistently each week.

Reflecting on his approach to inching closer to another championship, Elliott remarked, “If we’re accomplishing my goals and our team’s goals on a week-to-week basis, then I think the championship stuff is going to fix itself.”

“You know, you’re eventually going to get your turn. But you’ve got to keep putting yourself in those positions and I think for us, it’s just about having a little more pace, leading some more laps, being more aggressive,” he added.

Heading into the 2025 season, the 2020 Cup Series champion will look forward to sustaining this consistency and momentum, aiming to bridge the gap to a second title.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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