“It’s Certainly Possible” – Chase Elliott Knows What It Will Take to Save His NASCAR Season
Yes, Chase Elliott has had a pretty disappointing season so far compared to the high expectations from him, which are definitely not uniform across many drivers in the garage. Having missed several weeks of racing because of an injury and then one race because of a suspension, Elliott’s playoff berth isn’t looking as assured as it did in the last few years.
But the #9 driver isn’t panicking just yet. Because ever since coming back from serving his suspension at Gateway, he has finished inside the Top 5 in the following two races, at Sonoma, and more recently at Nashville. Not only that, Elliott was in contention for the win too in both of those races, and that is something that he claims, would be the key for the #9 team to turn their campaign around as the playoffs edge closer and closer.
Chase Elliott claims, “We’ll be fine” despite worrying state of his season
Speaking in a post-race interview after the race at Nashville, Elliott reflected back on his 4th place finish, and why having those late charges for the win and staying in the picture to win the race is such a crucial thing.
“If you’re not contending for wins, the final 10 doesn’t matter anyway. I mean, that’s just the facts of how what it takes to run consistently up front to make a late charge and point,” he said.
“So we have to have runs like this every week. Other guys are doing it so it’s certainly possible. We just gotta keep going where we’re headed and keep putting ourselves in the top 5, and keep inching away, and I think we’ll be fine.”
“We have to have runs like this.”@chaseelliott with a solid run. He’s 64 points below the cut line. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/jD072ygRhW
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 26, 2023
Elliott is having fun with where he stands currently
In the buildup to the Ally 400, Chase Elliott, despite the way his season has turned out, and despite the way he has been attracting a lot more criticism than usual, claimed that he isn’t sweating about it. Rather, it is quite the opposite.
“As bad as the year has been to a lot of people, I feel like it’s kind of fun,” Elliott said as per Autoweek. He pointed to the schedule where he claimed they have 10 weeks left and the reality of the situation is that he is considering the coming races much like the way things are in the playoffs where “you have to run well” or “you go home.”
“For me, I kind of enjoy it. I’m kind of looking forward just to the challenge … seeing if we can figure it out,” he added. Elliott conceded that, yes, they are in a tough spot, but this is “a great opportunity” for them to have fun and embrace the challenge.
This is where Elliott claimed, his head is at.
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