Underpressure Chase Elliott makes extremely clear remark about his level of confidence ahead of Martinsville

Following last Sunday's playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Chase Elliott spoke with NASCAR, revealing how he felt about the upcoming race at Martinsville. The 2020 Cup Series champion gave a one-word answer when a reporter asked how confident he was feeling going to the Virginian short track.

Chase Elliott drives the No. 5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports full-time in the Cup Series. The 28-year-old Dawsonville native was voted NASCAR's Most Popular Driver for six years straight, from 2018 to 2023. As of today, he has 19 Cup Series wins, with his most recent one at Texas Motor Speedway in April 2024.

Elliott has previously won a race at Martinsville Speedway. In all, Elliott has led 1103 laps and amassed five top-5s and five top-10s in 18 starts there. Chase Elliott further stated:

"I'm excited for Martinsville; should be a good opportunity for us."

Needless to say, Elliott is confident about his upcoming race at the half-mile racetrack. When asked how confident, Elliott replied:

"Very!"

Chase Elliott started last Sunday's race in seventh place, finishing third and second in the first two stages, respectively. He delivered a solid P-5 finish, the best among his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, bagging 49 points on the way.

Elliott currently sits in the bubble with teammate and 2021 Cup Series champion, Kyle Larson. Elliott is 43 points behind the elimination line. William Byron is the only Hendrick Motorsports driver who will enter next week's race as a top seed.

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Chase Elliott clears public opinion about his must-win situation

Chase Elliott during qualifying for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Source: Imagn

Chase Elliott is in a precarious situation today. He sits last among the top eight playoff drivers ahead of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville next week and therefore needs to win to get in. Perhaps the only way he can make it on points is if there are no new winners.

However, unlike what people think, there is no magic "go-win" button that Elliott can press right away; that's not how winning races in the Cup Series works. Speaking of which, in a recent interview (via Yahoo Sports), Elliott said,

"I don’t have a magic ‘go win’ button. If I did, I’d press it every week. So it’s just, that’s just not how this works. So what you do is, you have to have a base of where you’re at and the things that you do well, and you have things that you don’t do well, and you just try to improve, and you try to make it better."

According to Elliott, what he needs the most is a good start, to lead laps and stay inside the top-5 more often.

"For us, we’ve got to get into a position where we’re qualifying better, where we’re leading more laps and running inside the top five more throughout the event."

Can Chase Elliott regain his winning momentum for the decisive race this coming weekend? Will Elliott be able to frog-jump his teammates and join Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick in the final four? His fans can only speculate for now.