"Need Playoff points. Period!!!", "Keep up the good work"- Fans react after Chase Elliott's career-best Cup Series statistic surfaces

Chase Elliott's recent career-best stat revelation has garnered quick attention from the NASCAR fanbase. The Hendrick Motorsports driver broke his best average finish through 17 races in the season record, surpassing his championship-winning year, 2020.

Elliott had a lackluster footing in the current Cup Series season and couldn't churn a top 5 finish for the first six races. However, the next debacle at the Richmond Raceway witnessed the #9 Chevy driver post his first fifth-place finish. The superior form continued in further races and the Georgian native bagged a podium finish at the Kansas Motor Speedway, followed by his maiden win at the Texas Motor Speedway.

After recording his third-place finish at the recent Iowa race, Elliot has surpassed his career-best average finish for the first 17 races in NCS. In his rookie season in 2016, his average stood at 13.05, while in his sophomore year, it was 13.47.

During the 2018 season, the #9 Chevy driver scored 13.35 on average and 11.59 in the next season. In his championship season, Chase Elliott secured a 13.94 average finish for the first 17 races, but in 2021 that improved to 11.76. The next season saw him settling at 11.94. Last year, the HMS driver's average was 12.60 but this season, he has claimed the best-ever at 9.12.

Witnessing Chase Elliott securing a historic feat, the fanbase gave their take on the achievement. Despite the triumph, one fan weighed on the importance of playoff points.

"NEED PLAYOFF POINTS. PERIOD!!!," the fan wrote.

"He need to win more races," another fan added.

"I hope he wins more races and win the championship go chase 👍👍👍," one fan commented.

Some fans admired and took note of Chase Elliott's resurrection of dominance and wrote:

"Don’t know what’s happened to you @chaseelliott, but your smiles are bigger, you’re giving more interviews, and you are riding high on top. Keep up the good work. I am loving it! 💙🤍💛," one fan wrote.

"Best driver ever confirmed," another fan commented.

This fan took a jibe at the HMS driver's haters, writing.

"But I thought he was washed lol all the haters real quiet now," the fan mentioned.

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When Chase Elliott missed the playoffs for the first time by a whisker

Last year was a tumultuous one for Chase Elliott as he finished fourth at the regular season finale at the Daytona International Speedway. Despite his top-5 finish, the HMS driver was left without a spot in the playoffs, becoming his first since his rookie season.

Earlier in the season, the #9 Chevy driver fell victim to a snowboarding incident, fracturing his left tibia and missing six Cup Series weekends. Further, after facing a single-race suspension, the tally stood at 7 and the Georgian had catching up to do.

Despite posting seven top-5s and 15 top-10s, Elliott couldn't make it to the playoffs as his crash and fuel problem at Michigan and Watkins Glen left him with no choice but to win at the DIS. But the HMS driver came home with a fourth-place finish and hence, couldn't make it to the playoffs for the first time in his career.

Nonetheless, by consistently keeping himself among the frontrunners this year, Chase Elliott had claimed the top spot on the Cup Series leaderboard, dethroning his teammate Kyle Larson.