Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott finished fifth in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings. As a result, he led all Hendrick Racing drivers, including last years’ champion Jimmie Johnson. Even so, Elliott was still not able to capture that elusive first win in the Monster Energy Cup Series.
With that being said, Chase Elliott still had an amazing second season. Obviously, the sophomore jinks mantra did not affect the speedster at all. Overall, Elliott finished his 2017 season with 12 top fives and 21 top 10’s. He also led 560 laps and had an average finish of 10.8. Every one of the aforementioned stats was his personal best. When all was said and done, Elliott outdrove veteran teammates Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kasey Kahne.
In 2016, Chase Elliott finished in the runner-up spot twice. Once again, the youngster found himself playing second fiddle to whoever was destined to win that day. The #24 NAPA driver had five second-place finishes in 2017.
“I can probably say that I’ve learned more from the second-place finishes this year than the ones from last year,” Chase Elliott said. “A lot of those situations were very different from one another. I can kind of think back to some of the races. The races that I was more disappointed in being in the lead in some of those situations and losing it in the closing laps. Others were kind of on the offense in the closing laps and being able to get to second.”
At Daytona to kick-off the 2017 season, it looked as if Chase Elliott was going to end his streak of second-place finishes. The prodigy went out and won the pole in the league’s biggest race. He also won his respective Can-Am Duel prior to the big race on Sunday.
Once the Daytona 500 got underway, it was clear he was going to be a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, his fuel cells ran dry and he surrendered the lead with only two and a half laps left to go. In all, the Hendrick Motorsports phenom led 39 laps in “The Great American Race”.
The next week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott rebounded with a top-five finish. Not only did the NASCAR fan-favorite finish strong but he also took advantage of the stage racing format. Elliott would go on to earn points in the each of the opening two stages through the sixth race of the season at Martinsville. In those races, he won the second stage at Phoenix Raceway. Then, he went on to collect 79 stage points which placed the young driver into second in the standings. It wouldn’t be until four events later that he would drop out of his second-place status.
After the great start to the 2017 Monster Energy Cup Series, Chase Elliott experienced some problems. In fact, he went through a stretch of four consecutive finishes of 24th or worse. Elliott and his team were able to right the ship. Following the frustrations, he raced his Chevrolet well at Dover by claiming a top-10 finish in June. That was the first of four top-10’s that he would reel in during the next four contests. That also included his first runner-up finish of the year at Michigan International Speedway.
Chase Elliott and his NAPA team went into the playoffs as the 10th seed. He did it strictly on points because of the fact he did not win an event. Elliott’s playoffs got off to a productive start. He captured another stage win and a second-place finish. Unfortunately for Chase, the result was declared encumbered for an L1 penalty. Because of that, Elliott lost 15 points and his crew chief Alan Gustafson and car chief Joshua Kirk for the race at New Hampshire.
All was not lost for Chase Elliott. Interim crew chief Kenny Francis led him to an 11th-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After the penalty, Gustafson returned atop of the pit box. The next week, Elliott recorded two straight runner-up finishes at Dover and Charlotte. Realistically, the Dover finish was particularly tough on Elliott. The phenom had the lead coming to the white flag before being passed by Kyle “Rowdy” Busch for the victory.
“I’m just so disappointed in myself,” Elliott said after the Dover race. “Golly, I couldn’t have had it any easier. It ran green from the stage break all the way to the end. I gave it away.”
Chase Elliott entered the Round of 8 in the eighth position. He opened the round by leading 123 laps at Martinsville Speedway. He was out in front in the waning moments and it looked like he was going to drive his way into the race at Homestead. Instead, Denny Hamlin got to the rear bumper of his No. 24 Chevrolet and made hard contact. As a result, Elliott spun around and into the wall, ending his shot at Victory Lane.
“I got punted from behind and wrecked in Turn 3 leading the race,” Elliott said. “I don’t know what his problem was. It was unnecessary I hadn’t raced him dirty all-day long.”
The grudge match that started that day would continue on the next week at Phoenix. Denny Hamlin dominated the race, but while the two were racing for third on Lap 270 Elliott paid him back in spades. The angry motorist made contact with Hamlin which caused a left-rear tire rub on his #11 Toyota. The damage eventually led to a tire going down for Hamlin and hard contact with the wall five laps later. Elliott would go on to lead 19 of his 34 laps led in the race in the closing laps. Once again, he settled for second when eventual race winner Matt Kenseth cruised by him on lap 303.
“A wise man once told me that he’ll race guys how they race him with a smile on his face, so that’s what I did,” Chase Elliott said. “I raced him how he raced me, and that’s the way I saw it. That’s about all I have to say. I felt like I gave my 110 percent. Although very disappointed, again, to be so dang close to winning and having a chance to race for a championship. Learning the hard way, I guess. In some ways, but it’s hopefully making me a better person and making us better down the road.”
Chase Elliott finished the year with three consecutive finishes of eighth or better. His 7.9 average finish in the 10 playoff races was second only to champion Martin Truex Jr. Truex Jr. posted an average finish of 4.3. The 2018 season will see Chase Elliott transition from the #24 to the #9 at Hendrick Motorsports. Nine was the number his daddy drove under for most of his career in the Cup Series.
“I’m excited about next year, we have some great things to build on,” Chase Elliott said. “We will see what next year brings and go from there.”
Chase Elliott Bio:
Chase Elliott will guide the #9 for Hendrick Motorsports for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Elliott qualified for the Playoffs in 2016 and 2017 after taking over for the icon, Jeff Gordon. Elliott is a two-time Most Popular Driver winner in the Xfinity Series. In that series, he captured the Sunoco Rookie of the Year and the championship in 2014. He also has five career wins in that series and two wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Go to Betdsi Sportsbook to see the odds for Chase Elliott to win it all in 2018.
