“That’s where we’re at nowadays”: Chase Elliott reflects on finishing P5 at the NASCAR All-Star race

2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular season champion Chase Elliott's night at North Wilkesboro Speedway earned the #9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver a P5 finish this Sunday. The All Star Race saw 24 drivers battle it out for a $1 million cash prize at the ressurected 0.625-mile-long track, with many touting the main event to be monotonous.

Kyle Larson, Elliott's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, managed to drive through the field and win in dominating fashion on the old surface of the short track. The Georgia native was seen battling with traffic and dirty air throughout the 200-lap-long event.

Managing to hold on to a P5 by the end of the 125-mile-long race, Chase Elliott elaborated on how he thinks the #5 team at Rick Hendrick's organization finished where they were supposed to, given the car's pace over the weekend. The 27-year-old spoke to the media about his performance in a post-race interview:

"That's where we're at nowadays. I actually thought we got our car better for that second run. I don't think we were as good as Kyle (Larson) or anything but I thought we were improved."

Speaking of whether he was surprised to see his fellow teamate in the #5 Chevy able to drive through the field, Chase Elliott did not shy away from appreciating Larson's efforts. He said:

"Not really, no. Something was (good), it's him (Larson) or the car one or the two, right?"

Chase Elliott speaks his mind on the 'monotonous' All Star Race, appreciates Larson's dominant performance

With the All Star Race going live from the recently ressurected North Wilkesboro Speedway, the hype around the main event on Sunday was off the charts for NASCAR. There was a huge buzz with many promotional activities along with a great Truck Series race. However, many felt the actual action on the track was lackluster.

With Kyle Larson managing to win by a sizeable gap from Bubba Wallace in P2, many fans touted the race as boring. Larson's teammate Chase Elliott elaborated on his thoughts about the same:

"It's part of it. A dominant performance should be celebrated just as much as a close finish in my eyes. They're not always going to be barn burners and that's okay, but still doesn't take away from the fact that it's still very difficult."

NASCAR goes live from Charlotte Motor Speedway next weekend for a return to the points-paying regular season.