DOVER, Del. – It’s a new month of racing for the NASCAR Cup Series, which means a fresh start for Chase Elliott.
So far this season, Elliott has three top-five finishes and six top-10s. The month of May brought struggle for the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS team, with incidents at Talladega and Charlotte ending their days early.
However, Elliott said he is a firm believer that “everything in racing comes full circle” and that his break is somewhere on the horizon.
“The big thing for us is you’ve got to keep trying to stay high on what you have going on, try to run well,” Elliott explained. “If you put yourself in a good position long enough I think eventually good things will happen to you.”
Compared to this time last year, the 21-year-old driver feels as though he is handling any frustration he may be feeling in a better way. Elliott said he is able to discern more when he makes an error personally as opposed to when circumstances are just outside of his control.
“I think there is a difference in my frustration and some of the things that I have gone through this year I think are different than what I went through last year,” Elliott said. “I feel like some of the misfortune we have had this month has been out of my hands in some ways. I look at the different circumstances and how they differ.”
As the season continues, Elliott and the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS team are focused on pushing forward and continuing to improve. He credited the team for helping him navigate the different tracks and coming into his own.
“I think this time last year was obviously our first go around together in a lot of ways as a group,” Elliott said. “Learning racetracks as we go to for the first time in the Cup car and some of the different things that we fought. You know you still fight those things as time goes on, but I feel like we just all feel more at home. We just all feel more comfortable with what we are doing.”
As Dover approaches, Elliott and his team are looking forward to having a “solid day” with a good finish, which is not outside the team’s reach at the Delaware track.
In Elliott’s two Cup Series starts at Dover he earned two top-five finishes, taking the checkered flag in third each time.
“I feel like if we keep doing our jobs and keep trying to run well and just keep trying to improve,” Elliott said, “I think it will come around for us and those opportunities will be there again for us to have good finishes.”