HMS star Chase Elliott admits his current driving style is not his “favorite”, but explains the importance of the same

With Atlanta Motor Speedway scheduled for February 23, Chase Elliott opened up about driving on drafting-style tracks. He admitted this style isn't his favorite, although he believes improving on it is important in delivering a strong season.

Elliott will enter the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta after finishing P15 in the Daytona 500. He fought for the lead but was caught in multiple wrecks due to unpredictable racing on drafting-style tracks like Daytona and Atlanta.

In an interview with the media at AMS, Elliott was asked whether he liked racing on drafting-style tracks. The Hendrick Motorsports star said no but understood he needed to improve considering six races are in this style.

"Yeah, I don’t necessarily know that it’s my favorite style of racing to participate in, but it is definitely a style of racing that you really have to learn to at least accept and try and learn how to get better," Chase Elliott said.

The 2020 NASCAR champion pointed out that drivers used to overlook speedway races. However, the addition of more races in this style changed his approach.

"So I think that, historically, you could kind of get away with not worrying about the speedway races with where they fell on the calendar and the fact there wasn’t as many of them. But I don’t really think that’s the case anymore," he stated.

When asked about his plan on bouncing back from Daytona, the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro driver replied:

"Honestly, I wouldn’t do anything different than we did last weekend. Was I disappointed in the result? Absolutely [...] But when I just look at the week of work that we put in and the preparation that went in... we had probably our best car in the Next Gen era down there for a Daytona 500, so I thought that was great."

Chase Elliott during the 2025 Daytona 500 race week - Source: Imagn

The drafting-style tracks on the NASCAR calendar include Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta. The Daytona International Speedway hosts the Daytona 500 and Coke Zero Sugar 400, while the Talladega Superspeedway holds the Jack Link's 500 and YellaWood 500 (Round of 8 race).

As for the upcoming track host, the Atlanta Motor Speedway runs the Ambetter Health 400 and Quaker State 400. It is Chase Elliott's home race as a native of Dawsonville, Georgia.

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Chase Elliott made his feelings known about racing at home track

During the same interview, Chase Elliott touched upon racing at his home track, the Atlanta Motor Speedway. He expressed excitement with NASCAR scheduling two stops at the 1.54-mile track and looked forward to racing on the reconfigured layout.

As a side note, the league reconfigured AMS in 2022 to create drafting-style racing.

Speaking with the media (via Speedway Digest), the Dawsonville native said:

"I love coming here. I’ve said it a lot, but I’m glad we have two dates here at this track. There was a large investment made to try and make the track better... make it more exciting and I think they achieved all of those things, honestly."

The Chevy pilot added:

"It seems like the fan engagement and excitement has been elevated since the track reconfiguration and hopefully that continues to get better as time goes."

Chase Elliott won the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta in 2022 - Source: Imagn

The 2025 Ambetter Health 400 is slated for February 23 at 3:00 p.m. ET. It is the second points-paying race of the season following the season-opener at Daytona.