Chase Elliott qualifies for the Round of 12 NASCAR owner playoffs

NASCAR driver Chase Elliott has managed to advance in the Round of 12 of the owner playoffs despite not being a NASCAR Cup Series playoff driver this year.

The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver was part of the 16th and final team to qualify for the owner playoffs. As per Beyond the Flag, Elliott and the No. 9 team posted the third-best average finish (7.00) in the round of 16 of the playoffs, and they were never really under threat of dropping below the round of 12 cut line, even with very few playoff points entering the postseason.

The difference between Elliott advancing to the Round of 12 of the owner playoffs and Bubba Wallace advancing is that in Wallace's case, the No. 23 23XI Racing team of Bubba Wallace himself advanced to the Round of 12 of the driver playoffs, even though his No. 23 team is not a playoff team, the eliminations were the same in both the driver and the owner playoffs.

Dale Earnhadt Jr. on how he got inspired by Chase Elliott

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhadt Jr. stated that he took inspiration from Chase Elliott's mentality and looked at failure in a different light.

While appearing on his podcast, the NASCAR icon claimed that Elliott helped him with his nervousness. He said:

“I think one thing that really helped me realize that I could go that I could get through that part of the things I decided it is watching Chase Elliott and (Chase) Briscoe and all these other drivers race other cars and things that maybe they are not familiar with right?”

“Chase Elliott went to run in the Chili Bowl a couple of years ago. And I mean that is a long, the odds are long, right that he’s not going to make the main right, the odds are super… I mean, the guy’s a great driver. I think I still look back on what I’m doing now and think, ‘Man, I should have done more.’ But seeing those guys like Chase Elliott … I use him as an example. He’s the only one I really think of."

He added:

"Seeing him go do something where he knows he might not do it well, and he’s probably not going to win. But he’s fine with that … really encouraged me to just stop worrying about losing and not winning. Going into a late-model sock race and just getting your ass kicked. It’s okay…”

It is indeed fascinating to see how an icon like Dale Earnhadt Jr. still seeks inspiration from drivers like Elliott despite all his years of experience in the world of Motorsport.