"There's more in my hands this weekend”: Chase Elliott eyeing to capitalize at Kansas for safeguarding upcoming superspeedway run

Chase Elliott said he's more in control of his own destiny this weekend at Kansas Speedway than the other two Round of 12 tracks. The 2020 Cup Series champion believes a strong run at the 1.5-mile track will give him more of a cushion ahead of next week's race at the Talladega Superspeedway.

In an interview via Fronstretch, the interviewer suggested to the Georgia native that with Talladega and the Charlotte Roval both being a part of the Round of 12, it's the wild card of the three rounds. The driver of the #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet responded by saying this weekend's Round of 12 opener is more of a traditional weekend than what to expect next week at the 2.66-mile drafting track. When comparing the two races, Elliott feels more confident in what he can control at Kansas than Talladega, as he said:

"The way I look at that is there's more in my hands this weekend than there's going to be at Talladega next weekend. I would like to take advantage of that and make it to where next week doesn't matter." [0:33 onwards]

Elliott said the unknown of Talladega always presents a challenge and makes races at Sunday's at Kansas more important. He said:

"Talladega always, whichever round that one falls in every year, is always a bit unpredictable and you just don't know what's going to happen. When you have those races in the round, it's always really important to take advantage of, I guess what you would call a traditional weekend, and I think this is certainly one of them." [0:15 onwards]

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Chase Elliott carrying momentum into the Round of 12

With the Round of 12 presenting many obstacles, there's no doubt Chase Elliott has put together quality performances in recent weeks. He recorded two top-10s in the Round of 16, including a runner-up finish last week at Bristol and recorded a 9.67 average finish, the third-highest of any driver in the round.

The question is whether or not it gives Elliott an edge in the next round. The 19-time Cup Series race winner does have victories at each of the Round of 12 tracks, including a 2018 win at Kansas, two victories at Talladega in 2019 and 2022, and two wins at the Charlotte Roval in 2019 and 2020.

Elliott holds a six-point advantage over the cut-line to advance to the Round of 8 heading into Sunday. Aside from missing the playoffs last year, Elliott has made it to at least the Round of 8 in every season since 2017, including three straight Championship 4 appearances from 2020-2022, winning one in 2020. His HMS teammates, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and William Byron all advanced to the Round of 12 as well.