"My mindset doesn't change" - Chase Elliott's focus remains steady despite road course ringers in Cup Series playoff

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott remains focused despite the challenge posed by new road course competitors.

The 28-year-old Cup Series Champion currently drives the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro. In 2014, he became the youngest driver to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and in 2016, he started racing full-time in the Cup Series, taking over Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. His father, Bill Elliott, is the 1988 Winston Cup champion.

In an interview with Frontstretch on September 13, Elliott explained that the addition of talented road course drivers doesn’t change his approach.

"Over the course of my time and having been through that, you know, it does not change anything for us. It really does us no good to sit there and look at that. We’ve got to run our weekend and it doesn’t change our goals. It just doesn’t. It is what it is, you know, it just doesn’t impact our weekend as we prep for it," Elliott said (01:10).

The 28-year-old added that his focus remains the same every weekend, no matter who his competitors are.

"As I look at the weekend, regardless of who’s in the event, my mindset doesn’t change and that’s no different this time versus any other week that you," he said. (01:40)

Eliott further added that he believes that starting in the front row might not be as important for winning if tires lose grip during the race.

"I think the only thing that could potentially change that would just be whether or not the tire falls off. If a tire actually has some fall off to it, then you know potentially you could not have to qualify on the front row to have a shot to win because historically that’s kind of been the name of the game here," he said. (00:15)

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Chase Elliott calls for a shorter NASCAR season

Chase Elliott has called for changes to NASCAR's busy schedule to promote the mental well-being of drivers and teams.

NASCAR was on a two-week break for the Paris Olympics this year, leading to discussions about making such breaks a permanent feature. Brad Keselowski voiced his support for a complete industry shutdown during the summer to help mitigate burnout.

In the Teardown show, Elliott explained that NASCAR could benefit from a shorter, more exciting season, similar to college football.

" I think the first thing is the length of the season. They get a lot in, and when I say length of the season, I’m not necessarily talking about number of races. But just the amount of calendar year that you burn in doing it," Elliott said.

NASCAR operates on a nearly year-round schedule with a 10-month season, leaving drivers with limited time off. In contrast, Major League Baseball has a shorter season spanning 8 months.

Elliott is currently eighth in the playoffs, and the second playoff race is this Sunday at Watkins Glen.