The NASCAR Cup Series field will be at the Charlotte Roval this weekend for the final race of the Round of 12. Chase Elliott is one of the drivers gunning for a spot in the next round and he will have to look no further than his past at the track for inspiration. The Hendrick Motorsports driver secured a truly memorable victory on the roval back in 2019 despite suffering a harsh setback.
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His No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro had been one of the quickest vehicles on the track that October day. He won Stage 2 and appeared set to conquer the victory flag when mishap befell. During the restart on the 66th lap, he led the field into Turn 1. He slammed on the brakes to make the corner but missed his spot and crashed into the tire barrier.
The caution flag waved but Elliott was somehow able to back his car out of the mess with minimal damage. A short visit to his pit stall gave his crew the chance to fix the hood and return him to the race.
However, he was at the tail of the traffic when he came back and Kevin Harvick was in the lead. From there, the driver put on a scintillating display of pure speed and skill.
He sliced through the field with expertise and with six laps left, he regained the lead from Harvick. There was no turning back from there. He ended up securing what was his third win of the season.
In 2024, this entire sequence sounds like a dream that can never be visited again. With NASCAR on NBC rewinding the clock to the race on X (formerly Twitter), fans expressed the same line of thought.
Fans react to Chase Elliott’s masterclass in Charlotte
Passing through the entire field to regain a lost lead is simply not possible in the Next Gen era. The cars are all too similar to each other and NASCAR is far too comfortable with that to consider change. This led one fan to write, “Great stuff but the sad thing about it.. we will never see something like this again while we’re racing the Gen 7. Passing is to hard to even think about it.”
Another cried, “Give me this car back for road course and short tracks” One opinion that the entire fandom can agree on is that the previous generation car would make for more exciting races on certain tracks than the Next Gen does. Many still vividly remember how good road course races used to be just a few years ago.
Great stuff but the sad thing about it.. we will never see something like this again while we’re racing the gen 7. Passing is to hard to even think about it.
— Kaleb L (@KiNg_ChO2) October 10, 2024
A follower said remembering it, “They had such a good road course program.” Amid all the feelings of nostalgia, there is reason to hope for a better future. The Charlotte Roval comes packed with a reconfigured layout this weekend. Hopefully, the changes will enable better passing opportunities and let drivers enact displays similar to Elliott’s.
