The 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott already fixed his spot in the 2024 playoffs by winning at Texas last month. The goal for him until the regular season ends is to continue contending for victories and gather as many playoff points as possible. Though the win in Texas is the only time he reached the victory lane in his last 50 appearances, there is no question about his momentum being on the rise.
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In his last 17 races, Elliott has consistently finished inside the top 20. Notably, this is the longest streak of top-20s that he has had in his Cup Series career. The longest streak of all drivers in the modern era is held by Kevin Harvick, who finished inside the mark in 32 consecutive races between 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, Elliott’s streak started in Homestead-Miami in 2023.
Chase Elliott has finished top 20 in the last 17 NASCAR Cup Series races
This is the longest run of top 20s he’s ever had in his Cup Series career pic.twitter.com/XgqWX4tket
— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) May 28, 2024
Atop this personal record, he sits in fourth place on the points table with five top-5s in the last ten races. In the Coca-Cola 600 that went down last Sunday, he finished in seventh place. Just a day prior, he’d piloted the #17 Hendrick Motorsports part-time Xfinity Series entry to the victory lane. It was his first Xfinity Series victory since 2016 and the sixth of his career in the second tier.
The win was largely attributable to the tire strategies of crew chief Greg Ives whom Elliott did not forget to praise post-race. “Hats off to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports,” he said. “Super special to win with the 17 on the car for the boss (Rick Hendrick) and (Hendrick’s wife) Linda. It’s a great honor here with the Ricky Hendrick scheme. It means a lot to all of us to be a part of this whenever it runs.”
Back up in the Cup Series, his next race will be at the Worldwide Technology Raceway. His attempt to produce a worthy result will largely be a hit in the dark for he has raced on the track just once before – the year it was inducted into the Cup Series calendar. In the race that went down in 2022, he started from 16th place and finished in 21st. Hopefully, he will be able to keep his top-20 streak going after this weekend.
