TALLADEGA, Ala. – For the past two weeks, Chase Elliott has raced his way to the front of the pack. But he hasn’t had the finishes to show for it.
In both Round of 12 races so far in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Elliott has led laps. But in both, incidents caused the rookie to finish outside of the top 30.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed by the outcome the past couple of weekends. I think anybody would be and should be,” Elliott said. “The biggest piece of it I think is the encouragement of how we have been running. I’ve been impressed with how our team has come together, how we’ve stepped up our game as an organization when it came time to start the Chase. I think that says a lot about our group and our team for not quitting and getting to where we need to be and keep fighting for that right direction.”
And Elliott doesn’t expect that mentality to change any time soon. With a berth in the Round of 8 on the line Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, the driver said his team’s mentality will be to put it all on the line and race for the win.
Currently 12th in the standings, Elliott said that while the finishes were disappointing, they’ve made it a simpler proposition this weekend for the No. 24 team.
“It puts us in a pretty simplistic situation for this weekend in having to have a really good run, if not have to win,” he explained. “It’s a simple position that we are in and we are up for the challenge and looking forward to Sunday.”
And if he finds his way into the top eight of the standings to advance to the next round, he believes the speed the No. 24 team has flashed throughout the Chase has proven that Elliott could be a force to be reckoned with en route to Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“I 100 percent think if we can advance through this weekend I without a doubt feel like we can be a contender," he said. "I think we have been running well enough the past couple of weeks to be a contender. Obviously, we haven’t had the finishes to show it, but I feel like the way we’ve been clicking, pit road, practice, the race, I feel like all that stuff has been going in the right direction. I definitely think that we could be one of those guys if we can make it through this weekend.”
Despite his current position in the standings, his on-track performance in the Chase has Elliott ready for Sunday’s test.
“You hate to have things go like they have, but I think I’m more encouraged by the way we have been running,” he said. “At the end of the day, that is the most important thing.”