Chase Elliott reflects on a tough result at Daytona after running a decent race but just falling short of NASCAR playoffs

NASCAR driver Chase Elliott mentioned that he was disappointed that he wasn't able to qualify for the NASCAR playoffs after finishing P4 in the race in Daytona.

This is the first time since joining the NASCAR Cup Series in 2016 that Elliott has missed out on playoffs. The 27-year-old will end the year finishing no higher than 17th because of missing six races due to his leg injury. He was also suspended for a race for intentionally crashing with Denny Hamlin.

In his post-race interview, Elliott reflected on his disappointment in missing the NASCAR playoffs:

“I mean, look, it sucks, no question. But I’m glad the car got in. It’s a big deal and testament to Alan and our team for just continuing to fight and whatnot while I was gone. You know, that there’s a lot of opportunity on that side of things, and it’s a really big deal. So we’d like to go and make some noise on that front."

Elliott added:

"You know, it certainly isn’t ideal for me, but I look at these next 10 weeks as an opportunity to get better and really try to be prepared for next year. So I hate it. I hate the way that this worked out. I can’t change it now. We’ve been trying to fight through it, and we came up short. So that’s life sometimes. So I do think we’ll be better for this on the other end somewhere.”

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Chase Elliott analyzes his P4 finish at Daytona race

It looked set for the 27-year-old after the final restart as he was second car on the inside and behind him were his two Hendrick Motorsport teammates.

As per Motorsport, Chase Elliott stated that he liked his position after the caution and said:

"I really liked where we were before the caution. Honestly, after the restart there, we had the bottom lane that we wanted. I knew the No. 6 [Brad Keselowski] was going to go with the No. 17 [Chris Buescher]. I thought the No. 4 [Kevin Harvick] was going to take the bottom, and they did. We really had all the help we could ask for behind."

"I couldn't stay locked onto Kevin like I needed to to surge the bottom lane forward. Brad and Chris were there."

It will be fascinating to see how Chase Elliott performs in the remaining races of the season.