Chase Elliott admits 2022-like domination is not guaranteed for him at Watkins Glen amidst a heated playoff hunt

Chase Eliott desperately needs a win to make it to the playoffs this seaosn.

Chase Elliott admits 2022-like domination is not guaranteed for him at Watkins Glen amidst a heated playoff hunt

Chase Elliott (Credits: @SunocoRacing/Twitter)

2020 NASCAR Cup series champion Chase Elliott is going through one of the toughest parts of his Cup career in 2023. With just two races left in the regular season, he might miss out on the playoff for the first time since joining Hendrick Motorsports. He desperately needs a win to progress, and the sports’ most popular driver hopes to rise to the occasion at Watkins Glen or Daytona.

Rick Hendrick’s driver found himself in this unfortunate situation after he missed seven Cup races earlier in the seaosn. He missed the six due to a tibia injury following a snowboarding accident. The sanctioning body suspended him for race following an incident on track involving Denny Hamlin. He is currently P8 in the championship, is 80 points off the Cutoff line, and will not make it to the Round of 16 just on points.

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Elliott came close to sealing his spot in the playoffs last Sunday at Indy but came up short and finished P2 behind Michael McDowell. He got another shot at redemption at Glen this week, a track he has dominated. Last seaosn, he led a race-high 29 laps before, but his teammate Kyle Larson ran him wide on a late restart for the win. When asked if the No:9 Chevy will have the same speed this Sunday, he admitted that it isn’t guaranteed.

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“I don’t see why not. Is that guaranteed? No, it’s not, unfortunately; I would love to have that kind of pace guaranteed again. But you know, that’s just not how it works. But we can certainly take the things that we have had success with and the things that we feel like we’ve gained at a road course and try to apply it this weekend and hopefully execute a good race,” Elliott told NASCAR.Com.

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Chase Elliott has fortified himself from outside noises

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Chase Elliott at IMS (Credits:@NASCAR/Twitter)

Being the sun of 16-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver, Bill Elliott, Chase grew up in the limelight with every step of his life being discussed. This outside noise often has negative effects on the driver. But Elliott, over the years, has trained himself to ignore the buzz around him.

It has helped him keep his mind clear and concentrate on things that can make a difference for him on the track. This he achieved by paying attention and working hard on something. He claimed that as he got matured over the years, he could easily ignore the unwanted noise.

“I think it just reaffirms how little outside noise matters. And it really makes you put even more emphasis on the things that do make a difference and just makes you pay less attention to the things that don’t,” Elliott said.

“And when you really boil things down, there is just so much chatter and so much noise that goes on week to week. And as I have gotten older and as I have spent more time doing this stuff, I just care less and less about the noise and more about the things that make a difference,” Elliott added.

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