Elliott to begin pursuit of second NASCAR title

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chase Elliott begins his quest for a second NASCAR Cup Series championship this weekend. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet talked about the importance of getting off to a good start to NASCAR's Chase for the Championship. The first three races are at distinctly different type tracks of Darlington, Gateway and Bristol, which hosts the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Sept. 19. "A guy that as a true contender could probably have a bad week, maybe two and climb his way out of it.," Elliott said Wednesday during NASCAR Media Day at the Charlotte Convention Center. "But the more bad weeks you have, you're going to have to be really good to make it up." It hasn't been a stellar year for Hendrick Motorsports with Elliott's wins at Martinsville and Texas the only two for the organization this season. Elliott is in the middle of the Chase pack, eighth of the 16 drivers. He pointed out the 10-race Chase is a lot different than the previous playoff format which eliminated drivers after three races. "Ten weeks is a long time, and things can change quick," Elliott said. "There are examples in different scenarios. You know the dominance of Jimmie (Johnson) from 2006-10. They executed at a high level, went to tracks that they were far superior at, and were able to piece together 10 really good weeks." Elliott, the eight-time reigning NASCAR Most Popular Driver, also used the example of Tony Stewart in 2011 when he barely made the Chase, but won five of 10 races to edge Carl Edwards for the championship. As far as his race team, he's confident the Hendrick organization will get things turned around soon. Elliott, the son of NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bill Elliott, scored six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in the first 26 races. "This year hasn't gone like we want it to go from a company standpoint," Elliott said. "No one's discouraged by that. From a prep standpoint, all the little things that are in our control, we're going to make sure we're putting our best foot forward. The way we've been running over the last few months, we don't have a lot to lose." Elliott, 30, has 23 career victories. Of the races on the NASCAR tour, the Southern 500 at Darlington and Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol are two he most wants to win. Elliott won the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol. He has a best finish of second in the 2024 Night Race as his best official finish in 18 previews Bristol races. The Dawsonville, Georgia driver knows that he and the rest of the No. 9 team are ultimately graded on their finishing positions. "At the end of the day, the results are what matters and what people are going to see," Elliott said. "You do your part and do a good job or they're kicking your teeth in. Unfortunately, we've been getting the latter lately. We've all been doing it long enough that we understand the ups and downs of the sport, how this thing goes in cycles. We're just trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together."