HAMPTON, Ga.: Chase Elliott’s NASCAR Cup Playoff strategy is to attack the postseason one race at a time.
With eight prior Playoff appearances in nine full seasons and three trips to the Championship 4, Elliott is comfortable with the process—it’s just a matter of avoiding the pitfalls along the way.
Given the complexion of Atlanta Motor Speedway since the 2021 repave, Elliott’s home track has become one of the most treacherous venues on the NASCAR schedule. The 1.54-mile quad oval’s banking was elevated to 28 degrees—which in turn elevated the action considerably.
“It’s a good thing because Atlanta is first, and that place is going to be crazy and chaotic, and you try not to crash ultimately,” Elliott said. “We will try and get some stage points and try to put ourselves in position to win—which would be great.”
Elliott likes his odds. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is seeded seventh with a nine-point buffer over the Round of 12 elimination line. The first three tracks line up well for the 28-year-old driver. Elliott has scored wins at both Atlanta and Watkins Glen.
In 2022, Elliott won from the pole in his first win at the intermediate-turned-drafting track. In 11 starts, Elliott, 28, also has two top fives and seven top 10s. Despite earning three poles at AMS, on Saturday, the Dawsonville, Ga.-native qualified 16th for the Quaker State 400.
Before NASCAR introduced the Next Gen car in 2022, Elliott scored two wins at Watkins Glen—the second race in the Round of 16. He’s posted four top-fives in his last five starts at the Glen.
“We had a test there maybe my rookie year or maybe shortly after that,” Elliott said of the Glen. “It was already a good road course package before I got there (Hendrick Motorsports), so it wasn’t like we created something out of thin air. We had a good basis, but there was one particular test that we developed a good package for and we built off that.
“But it was more than just that one day. It was a lot of collaboration between all the teams and drivers after that test and the races that followed that test to get it to where it was and the success that we had. Now this was all with the old car and everything with the new car is totally different. So, the success that we have had as a company with the new car, is totally different.”
Still, successful nonetheless. HMS has 11 victories at the Glen—including in the last five races. Before Elliott’s victories in 2018 and 2019, Hendrick’s last win at the road course was in 2001 with Jeff Gordon. Larson scored back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2023 and Byron was victorious last year.
With Hendrick drivers scoring nine of the first 26 races of the season, Elliott’s greatest competition in the Playoffs might come from his teammates. All four HMS drivers qualified for the Playoffs but Elliott leads the organization with three appearances in the Championship 4.
“In my time of doing it that, I have really changed my process,” Elliott said of the Playoffs. “But I have certainly had a lot of fun in the last 10 weeks just because there is something on the line. I do enjoy that aspect of being a competitor and showing up each week because it could be a make-or-break weekend for you. I think it’s fun because you either do or you don’t.
“That is fun to me. You go to a race and your back is against the wall and you have to perform. You either show up and get it done or if you didn’t. You get your report card that day and you didn’t do a good enough job. And I like that. I like that aspect of that there are intense moments over the course of that stuff.
“Am I a fan of all the aspects of it? Maybe not necessarily, but I do enjoy the fun meter of being a competitor in the last 10 weeks that it brings me.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
