NASCAR Preview: Chase Elliott on Tricky Darlington Track – “It Can Ruin Your Day”

Chase Elliott is currently hunting his second win of the 2024 Cup Series season. He overcame a long winless streak by grabbing the victory in Texas earlier this year and is now gunning for as many playoff points as can be secured before the postseason. His next race will be on the track that’s too tough to tame – Darlington Raceway. Wariness is the sentiment as he heads to the start line on the oval.

Elliott’s recent results in the track aren’t terrible. He has secured three top-10s and two top-5s in four Next Gen appearances. However, his experiences have taught him well to not underestimate the challenges that lay in the unique egg-shaped track. Speaking to the press in his media advance, he noted what made Darlington a tough venue to race in with the Next Gen cars.

He said, “These cars are so fragile with the way the suspension components are, even now that they’ve changed them a lot. You just can’t afford to hit the wall very hard. You end up bending something and it can ruin your day. That risk versus reward and the fine line of when to push and how hard to push is important there.” 

Notably, his #9 Camaro suffered a DVP status at Darlington in 2022. Elliott had spun himself early in the race on the Turn 1 wall and damaged his right rear suspension. He came to the pit road for repairs but the 10-minute window on NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy expired before the work was done and ended his race. Going to Sunday, he will hope to hold better control over his throttle.

Alex Bowman concurs with Elliott’s concerns about hurting their race cars

After 12 races in 2024, Bowman ranks 9th in the points table. He has four top-5 finishes and the fifth-best average (13.08) across the field. Sunday will present him with his 13th Cup Series start at Darlington and he holds the same wariness levels as his counterpart, Elliott. “Darlington (Raceway) is such a tough place to put an entire day together,” he said.

“The race is long and you kind of have to run that place in a high-risk space for the entire day. It’s hard to do that for that long without mentally making a mistake or kind of overstepping the boundaries and hurting your race car.” His past record in the oval doesn’t instill a lot of confidence in his chances. He holds 1 top-10 finish in three Next Gen starts at the Lady in Black. Judging from their words, the prime concern for both Elliott and Bowman will be to bring their cars back in one piece.