A P11 result is usually considered decent but Chase Elliott was not happy with himself at all at the end of the Southern 500. It could be due to a lot of factors. He did not get the best out of his car in Darlington but he also threw away his chance at winning the regular season championship a few races back. A good performance on Sunday could have seen him leapfrog both Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick to the top of the table but it was just not meant to be.
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Darlington has been a difficult place to race for the 2020 Cup Series champion. He has never won here in his 15 outings, despite having one of the best cars in the competition. Speaking to the media after the race, Elliott said that he was glad the track was not part of the playoffs. The good thing is that he has made it into the playoffs, which was crucial after the dismal season he had in 2023. However, there is a lot of work to do if he is to win his second Cup Series championship.
“Very poor,” he said when asked about the race. “We got a gift to finish where we did, a bunch of gifts but yeah obviously excited to have that one over with and looking forward to getting the playoffs started. These next 10 are…they’re intense so we’re going to have to have myself and our entire Napa team hit the reset button.”
Elliott has won one race so far this season which is frankly not that impressive for a driver of his caliber. Still, 10 races are remaining and anyone can spark into form during the playoffs. The competition, however, will be a lot tougher now.
Elliott’s Most Popular Driver crown in danger?
The #9 driver has not won the Cup Series championship since the pandemic but has been a regular winner of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award. Even last season in which he did not compete in several races and failed to win a single one, he won that award. However, even that might be slipping away now in favor of his teammate according to racing legend Kevin Harvick.
“When you look at the other side of that, you’ve got Kyle Larson. Kyle Larson is at every short track, races every week, he’s engaged with the fans after the races. He’s doing those things. I feel like if it was evoked from what you were seeing on TV, Kyle Larson wins that Most Popular Driver battle currently,” he said on an episode of his podcast.
Even if Elliott somehow managed to find some of that 2020 form and win the championship this year, he’d find Kyle Larson as a strong contender for the Most Popular Driver award.
