Elliott has dominated NASCAR since return
After bad luck derails first two races back from hiatus, popular driver wins back to back
CONCORD, N.C. — Chase Elliott said he had “good fortune” after capturing his first win of the Cup Series season at Charlotte Motor Speedway Thursday night.
“I’m not sure that we had it exactly perfect,” Elliott said. “But the guys did a great job making good adjustments and good pit stops there to put us in position.”
“Just had some good fortune and things went our way,” the No. 9 driver added.
That’s a sharp contrast to back-to-back races over the last two weeks that ended in late-lap devastation for Elliott’s Hendrick team. Last Wednesday, Elliott spun out of a top-three finish off a hit from Kyle Busch just before the race was called early due to rain. Elliott then returned to the track Sunday to nearly secure his first Coca
Cola 600 victory before a late-lap caution was thrown and his team called for the driver to pit, again edging Elliott from victory lane.
“We talked about how much that stunk,” said Ryan Blaney, who finished third. “Those things happen, and we had the same thing happen to us in Vegas this year when we pitted and a lot of people stayed out and it just didn’t work and (we) ended up not winning the race.”
“So you’re bummed,” Blaney continued. “You’re pissed off a little bit, but really there’s no sense in dwelling on it. (Chase’s) attitude was obviously disappointed, but at the same time, like I said, he was normal Chase.”
After Thursday’s Alsco Uniforms 500, “Normal Chase” now means a driver who combats back-to-back frustration with back-to-back wins. Tuesday, Elliott swiped the title of ‘Truck Champion’ from Busch after
beating the No. 18 Cup driver in a race that promised more than pride. There was also a $100,000 bounty on the line, put in place the Gander RV CEO and Kevin Harvick.
Elliott took his money and his bows after the race, then returned to Victory Lane two days later for what appears to be a hot streak for the sport’s most popular driver.
In the four races since NASCAR returned from hiatus May 17 during the coronavirus pandemic, Elliott has crossed the finish line in three of them, earning a fourth-place finish, second place, and a win. He’s third in the Cup points standings with 290 points, behind Joey Logano (317) and Kevin Harvick (331).
“I have the utmost confidence in him,” Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson said Thursday night. “I think he’s the best driver out here, and he’s showing it.”
Elliott did not lead the most laps Thursday, but he led the ones that mattered. He raced his way from a 19th-place start to a ninth-place finish in Stage 1, followed by a fourthplace
finish in Stage 2. Elliott then took the lead from Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick in the final 28 laps of the 208-lap race, which was delayed over an hour due to rain, and again crossed the finish line in first.
“I don’t know that Tuesday made up for Sunday,” Elliott said. “It was certainly good. It never hurt anything to come over here, perform and have a good run like that, but it definitely didn’t fix it.”
Elliott said his team was “hungry and wanted to get back and try again.”
They did just that, translating frustration into production, and Elliott seems determined to continue using the tough losses, as much as the recent wins, as motivation.
“You’re just kind of waiting on something to happen,” Elliott said. “It just kind of keeps you grounded, and the fact that it’s never over until it’s over, we’ve been reminded of that quite a lot.
“And that’s a lesson I’m never going to forget.”