NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Chase Elliott knows his 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season has been anything but normal. The driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet has missed seven races and finds himself 64 points outside of a playoff spot.
Prior to his fourth-place finish on Sunday in the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, the 27-year-old driver earned a fifth-place finish at Sonoma Raceway. Elliott hoped that finish would serve as a catalyst for a strong close to the regular season.
RELATED: LLumar extends sponsorship of Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 team
"I think that cadence and that stride that we executed with in Sonoma (Raceway) can result in great results from here to Daytona (International Speedway)," Elliott said during Friday’s media availability at Nashville. "We’re in a tough spot, but I think it’s a great opportunity to go and have some fun and embrace the challenge. That’s really kind of where my head’s at."
RELATED: 'DESI9N TO DRIVE' collaboration to take place at Atlanta Motor Speedway
The fourth-place Nashville run saw Elliott build off of those strides. He earned nine stage points and the team showed its strength over several lengthy green-flag runs at the 1.33-mile track. As the summer heats up, the 2020 champion is rounding into form with three top-five finishes in his last four races.
One constant by Elliott’s side has been crew chief Alan Gustafson, who has been the only crew chief that the Dawsonville, Georgia, native has had in his premier series career. In addition to the 2020 Cup Series championship, the two have won 18 races together.
"He’s a top-notch guy, first and foremost, and he’s a good leader," Elliott said of his veteran crew chief. "Our approach has been the same. Our preparation has been the same. Obviously, we talk about different things, but just that week-to-week schedule is very similar. I think it’s a good approach. I think he’s led our team really well through a tough situation. Obviously, still a lot of the season left and a lot of opportunity to get things going like we want to, but I think he’s done a great job, as I’ve always thought about him."
The path to the playoffs on points is difficult, but still doable for Elliott. He has to gain approximately 7.1 points on the cutoff line each weekend (and that assumes no winners below the 16th spot in the standings). That said, a win would be the surest way to the postseason. Elliott has gone to victory lane at three of the remaining nine tracks in the regular season (Atlanta Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Watkins Glen International). He also has runner-up finishes at four other tracks remaining in the regular season (New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Michigan International Speedway and Daytona).
PHOTOS: See every Cup Series win for Chase Elliott
"I think our team has been really, really strong for the majority of the season," Elliott said. "I think back to some of the races that I’ve been a part of – a lot of those races I feel like our race team has been better than I have done for them throughout the year. If I can bring to the table what they’ve been bringing to the table – on pit road, race strategy and things – I think we’d be in really, really good shape. I feel like I’m very capable of doing that – just putting the right pieces of the puzzle together right now and getting in a bit of a rhythm.
"... Certainly, don’t want to go to Daytona (International Speedway) and be in the position to have to win a speedway race to get into the playoffs. Odds are if you’re in that position, you’re probably not going to be much of a threat anyway, in my opinion. We want to be a threat each week from here on, and I intend to do that."