"I'm running it deep": NASCAR stars like Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric candidly reveal their fuel tank limits before refueling

When NASCAR introduced the Next Gen car, drivers came face-to-face with the fact that dominating races just with speed is not going to be an option anymore. So they had to resort to other ways of bettering their rivals, one of which was fuel strategy.

Arguably, the biggest question for the drivers is when they should commit to the pit road. Is it when the tank is half empty or perhaps when the meter hits a single digit? Recently, several NASCAR drivers, including 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, have spoken on the matter.

As far as Elliott is concerned, taking a little risk goes a long way. The Hendrick Motorsports ace always makes sure to run his No. 9 Chevy Camaro to the extent that he gets a bit concerned about making the next corner exit. He said,

“I'm running it deep. Slightly concerned about making it to the next exit.”

Others, like Austin Cindric of Team Penske, and 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, shared their views as well. McDowell, who joined Spire Motorsports on a full-time schedule this season, said,

“I rarely get below half a tank.”

While McDowell likes playing it safe, Cindric doesn’t. He is one of those drivers who prefer squeezing out laps until the tank hits single digits. On that note, Cindric explained,

“If you're not seeing single digits, you're not trying hard enough. There's a buffer, you know there's a buffer. In my truck, there's a buffer of about 25 miles.”

The drivers are now ahead of their sixth race of the season, which is expected to be held at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Scheduled for Sunday, March 23, the 267-lap event will be televised on Fox Sports 1 with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Chase Elliotts wraps “West Coast swing” with top-10 at Vegas

Last Sunday, i.e., March 16, Chase Elliott competed in the annual Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and brought home his second top-10 finish in a row. Elliott also picked 35 points on the way that day.

As of today, he sits fourth in the driver standings with 159 points to his name. Reflecting on his day at LVMS, Elliott took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote,

“P10 in Vegas and a wrap on the West Coast swing ✅ See y’all in Miami 🌊”

Chase Elliott has made nine career starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway with his best finish being a P2 that came on June 14, 2020. He owns a total of three top-fives and one top-10 (in 2018) at the 1.5-mile racetrack.

Elliott is in his 10th full year driving for Hendrick Motorsports. His current deal will keep him behind the No. 9 NAPA Chevy Camaro through 2027. Till then, he will be backed by three primary sponsorships from Amazon Prime, one of NASCAR’s newest media partners.