HMS star Chase Elliott makes his intentions known for Phoenix after a ‘big bounce back’ finish at COTA 

Hendrick Motorsports star driver Chase Elliott recently addressed his expectations for the Shriners Children's 500 race at Phoenix Raceway. Last weekend, the No. 9 Chevy driver had an eventful road course event at Circuit of the Americas after two underwhelming finishes in the 2025 NASCAR season's first two races at the superspeedway.

Soon after the green flag at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix event in Austin, Texas, Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion, was spun out by Ross Chastain on turn 1, which would have ended the 29-year-old driver's race sooner rather than later. As a result, it impacted his start of the road course event where he fairly managed to gather points after Stage one. His prowess only came to fruition in the final stage when the 19-time Cup race winner battled his way through to finish inside the top five after a day full of struggles.

In a recent media availability, Chase Elliott touched upon his intentions as he is headed out for the traditional 1-mile oval race in Arizona. He said (via Speedway Digest):

"I think right now, for us, we just want to have a good clean race. The team has put in the work to bring fast Chevrolets for me each week, but we've unfortunately had something happen to us in every race. To bounce back last week and get a top five was big."

Moreover, Elliott highlighted his last visit to the Phoenix during the Championship 4 race in November 2024. He added:

"Phoenix hasn't necessarily been a strong track for us in the Next Gen, but we made some headway there last fall, so I'm looking forward to seeing how we stack up this weekend."

NASCAR: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix - Source: Imagn

Meanwhile, Chase Elliott's crew chief, Alan Gustafson, is all decked up for a trial run of the Championship 4 race this Sunday (March 9).

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Chase Elliott's right-hand man "excited" for the Phoenix Challenge

NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott with crew chief Alan Gustafson. - Source: Imagn

Chase Elliott started this year strong with a win at The Clash, an exhibition race at the historic Bowman Gray Stadium. However, he has fairly managed himself to finish the first three races of the 2025 NASCAR season.

Elliott has only a single win at Phoenix during his Championship haul in 2020 and in his five starts in the Next-Gen era, the Georgia native has just one top-10 finish.

As the driver-crew chief duo set out for the fourth race of the 2025 season, Elliott's crew chief Alan Gustafson opened up on his thoughts for the 312-lap race. He said(via Hendrick Motorsports):

"I feel like we have some good direction and I’m excited. Anytime you have some direction it’s exciting to have that path. I feel like we have some good direction and have had a good three or four days of preparation for it, so I’m excited to go let it rip."

Catch Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Chevrolet team in action for the first traditional oval race of the season on FS1 at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday (March 9).