HMS' Chase Elliott's victory is vital for NASCAR at Charlotte, says mechanic

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott is on the cutline as the NASCAR Cup Series heads into the Round of 8 after Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400. Dave Green, a two-time NASCAR Craftsman Mechanic of the Year, believes Elliott’s success at Charlotte is crucial for NASCAR.

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, has a great record at the Charlotte ROVAL, with two wins and 109 leading laps in 6 starts. However, he has not won on a road course since NASCAR introduced the NextGen car.

NASCAR official Green says NASCAR would benefit from him winning at Charlotte, as it would avoid controversy about the previous towing decision to help him.

"If I was NASCAR I would want Chase Elliott to win and dominate at Charlotte. If Chase only advance by a couple of points last week’s decision to tow him to pit road becomes a huge talking point. At the Roval Chase has 2 wins but has unfortunately struggled with the new car. I’m taking Chase at +1200. #NASCAR Playoffs AR," wrote Green.

Last weekend at Talladega, a huge 28-car crash left many cars stuck and unable to restart. Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott were towed back to their pits and were allowed to continue racing.

NASCAR earlier made two disqualifying decisions with Ryan Blaney at Watkins Glen and Josh Berry at Kansas. Berry was taken out of the race after a crash on the first lap. However, his car was not as badly damaged as expected and Stewart Haas Racing was upset about losing their chance to race.

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"Trying to really memorize the track" - Chase Elliott on preparing for the Roval

Chase Elliott is looking at the Charlotte Roval as a new track. Apart from the two wins, he also has 2 top-fives and 4 top-tens with an average finish of 8.2 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Elliott talked about getting ready for the road course race last week by practicing on a simulator to learn the track layout and any bumps.

"To me, I kind of look at it like it’s a new race track, truthfully. That section of the track is going to change the entire flow of the lap there, so I’ve been kind of approaching it as a new track with my preparation. I’ve spent some time in the simulator, just trying to really memorize the track and where the little bumps are," Elliott said (via NASCAR).

Chase Elliott is currently 13 points above the cutline going into the elimination race. He had a 29th-place finish at Talladega last Sunday and needs stage points and a solid finish to move forward in the playoffs.