Chase Elliott reacts to Christopher Bell shrugging off Daytona 500’s ‘unnecessary’ practice “That’s a fair statement for someone like him”

Chase Elliott has opined on NASCAR's practice session after his Joe Gibbs Racing rival Christopher Bell downplayed it as 'unnecessary' for elite teams. The Hendrick Motorsports driver backed Bell's take, adding his bits on the same.

Following practice at the Daytona International Speedway, the #20 Toyota driver voiced his concern about the 20-minute sessions, citing them as barely useful for his team and the situation. Bell has made over 10 appearances on the 2.5-mile superspeedway across the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series, and has claimed two consecutive Cup Series podiums. Thus, he is well-versed in how to tame the iconic track.

During Chevrolet's media availability, Chase Elliott was asked what he thought about Bell's opinion. The 2020 Cup Series champion backed the JGR driver. He said practice is not required for "someone like Bell, or someone like him," who has ample experience in piloting high-octane cars at Daytona.

“Yeah, I think that’s a fair statement for someone like him, or someone like me, who’s been here and who’s done it. But I look at it like this -- from a weekly standpoint.. do we need practice at length, like we had in years past? Absolutely not," Elliott said via Speedway Digest.

Elliott added that having an hour's worth of practice that could allow rookies and inexperienced drivers to run laps and get accustomed to the track won't hurt their schedule.

"It’s not a big deal. It’s an hour practice and gives guys who have maybe not driven a Cup car before, rookies, people coming in to make at least a lap or two.. I don’t think that’s hurting anything. It's not like we’re here extra early to do that.. days in advance or anything."

It's worth mentioning that Joey Logano showed his inclination toward practice sessions as it helps underfunded teams gain advantage of the valuable track time.

Chase Elliott explains whether he had concerns with Chevrolet's speed this season

The Fords of Joey Logano and Michael McDowell swept the front row of the 2024 Daytona 500, while Chase Elliott came fifth. Thus, during the media availability, the HMS driver was asked if he had concerns with the #9 Chevrolet Camaro's speed after the practice.

Elliott insisted on no concern from his "perspective" and emphasized that true prospects of dominance can be deduced after drivers attempt to qualify on a "level playing field."

“No concern, at least from my perspective. I’m not worried about it.. whether we qualify on the pole or not. The practice thing is really hard to know... I think until you get into qualifying tonight and everyone is on a level playing field with the cars being cold, going out for the first time and all that, you really just don’t know," Elliott said.

The roster for Duels 1 and 2 is confirmed with Chase Briscoe as the polesitter for the first 60-lap showdown and Austin Cindric as the pole driver in the second Duel. Chase Elliott will kick off Duel 1 from P8, stemmed from his 15th-place finish in the single-car qualifying.