After rummaging through trials and tribulations, we are finally at Watkins Glen this weekend. The place where Chase Elliott won his first-ever Cup Series race several years ago. The one place where it is either make it or break it for the Hendrick Motorsports driver this season, who currently remains winless and out of playoff contention.
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This weekend’s race will be the final road course of the regular season, and the last chance for the road course specialist to secure his postseason on a track where in 2018, against all odds, Elliott managed to win the race in an iconic manner.
Following the race, his teammate, the Cup Series juggernaut, Jimmie Johnson, pushed his car back to victory lane. And recently Elliott shared his thoughts about that incredible day and the little help he got from Johnson that day.
Chase Elliott recalls the iconic moment with Jimmie Johnson at Watkins Glen
A video recently emerged on social media, where we see the iconic moment of Johnson stopping his car next to Elliott’s and realizing that the latter ran out of fuel on the cooldown lap. Johnson then backs up and pushes Elliott’s car all the way to victory lane.
‘@ChaseElliott looked back at first @NASCAR Cup Series win, coming at @WGI…
Plus a push from 7-time champ @JimmieJohnson. pic.twitter.com/A1stzwc6Sg
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 16, 2023
A little while into the video, Elliott speaks of that moment and mentions, “So after the race, my dad was spotting in the bus stop and I was going to go and absolutely burn it to the ground. But I ran out of gas…”
He added, “That’s such a special moment, Jimmie Johnson pushing me to victory lane. Which was really really really cool. That’s something that I will never forget… His friendship means a lot to me. I am very appreciative of what he’s done in helping me to become a better racer and a better person.”
Can Elliott repeat his 2018 win this weekend and save his playoffs?
Watkins Glen Internation has often been kind to Elliott in granting him wins. Coming into the race this weekend, there is high hope for Elliott to win here. Especially considering his performance at Indy Road Course, he surely has the pace to bring it in the first place.
Just looking at his past stints at this specific track, he has won twice in a row here. One is his first win in 2018 and the second in the 2019 season. So considering the overall statistics and keeping in mind the high stakes, there is a big chance that Watkins Glen might be the weekend when Elliott finally grabs that one win to save his season.
It goes without saying that his fans would hope everything goes perfectly fine for the driver from Dawsonville this Sunday.
