Chase Elliott said Saturday night that missing the playoffs for the first time in his Cup Series career was a “crap,” but it offered a learning experience.
“I appreciate everyone’s support this season, which has definitely not been what I would have wished for,” said Elliott after finishing fourth in the cup regular-season finals. “But there will certainly be some lessons to be learned from this and I think we’ll be better off in the end.”
Elliott is missing the playoffs for the eighth straight year after missing seven races this season – six through injury and one through suspension. That put him well below the playoff line as the end of the regular season neared.
Elliott had a shot at making his way into the playoffs, but a fall in Michigan and a Fuel problem at Watkins Glen put him in a desperate need to win situation at Daytona.
The 2020 cup winner did what he could on the Superspeedway. At the end of the second stage, he avoided a 16-car incident and placed on the second row at the beginning of extra time. He just couldn’t end the evening with a win due to the teamwork of the RFK Racing drivers.
“I feel like we had a good chance there, but Brad (Keselowski) and (winner Chris Buescher) just worked so well together there and they were able to stay on top of things,” said Elliott after the race. “They were so hemmed in there…they just had a stranglehold on the top lane.
“Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get Kevin (Harvick) to stay there and just make the bottom lane work. I sort of put it on hold and just couldn’t get enough momentum going forward.”
There are several areas where Elliott and crew chief Alan Gustafson can make improvements for next season. You can put more emphasis on qualifying after the No.9 car made the finals just seven times in its 19 starts.
They can also continue to work on race strategy for street courses and other tracks where they don’t have to worry about pitting in a group. Noticing these small details can mean the difference between battling for a championship and ending the regular season below the cutline.
While missing out on last place in the playoffs on the driver’s side, Elliott still scored a goal that was very important to Hendrick Motorsports. He put the #9 Chevrolet ahead of the #23 23XI Racing in the owners’ standings.
Elliott now has the opportunity to seek wins and points that will see the No. 9 through the opening rounds of the playoffs. NASCAR pays out awards at the end of the season based on owner placement, so a strong postseason run can help Elliott make a bigger profit.
“Of course we’re a little behind, but nonetheless – I hate the way the season has gone but I’m proud to bring the car into the owner’s championship,” said Elliott. “It’s a big deal to be involved on the ownership side, so hopefully we’re going to try to make some noise on that front and just keep pushing forward and pushing to be better next year.” We’ll get through it all better later. “
Elliott isn’t the only celebrity driver to miss the playoffs. Teammate Alex Bowman also missed the cut after missing three races due to injury. Reigning Rookie of the Year Austin Cindric missed the playoffs after winning last season.
Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez, both of whom fought their way to the playoffs last season, missed the cut after encountering win-worthy situations during the regular season. They joined AJ Allmendinger, who started the season as one of the favorites to make the playoffs due to the many away courses on the schedule.
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