Chase Elliott is one driver who would not have imagined himself in the situation he is in this year. Driving for Hendrick Motorsports, the Dawsonville, Georgia native has already left a mark on the sport with a Cup Series win in 2020, and has been among the contenders for the biggest prize in NASCAR since.
However, the 2023 Cup Series season has not been kind to Elliott and his hopes of making it to the playoffs, let alone challenge for the championship. Kicking things off with a leg injury that saw him sit out multiple races, followed by a suspension for intentional wrecking, Chase Elliott's season never gained the momentum that a driver needs.
However, the 27-year-old seems to be in good spirits despite all his setbacks this season. Elliott elaborated on the same in a press conference ahead of the HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Speedway this Sunday. In a clip uploaded by notable NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass, he said:
"Everybody likes to talk about that I was this really good road racer two or three years ago and now we haven't won one in a couple of years and that's cooled off too. Narratives change really fast and the fun part about being in the position that I'm in is we have the ability to change those narratives. We can make you all right about all kinds of different stuff if we just go do our jobs."
Seemingly unfazed by pressures from the media and fans, Chase Elliott seems to be concentrating on finding speed in the upcoming six events before the playoffs begin.
Chase Elliott on Shane van Gisbergen's return to NASCAR at Indianapolis
Chase Elliott was one of the few drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series appreciative of Supercars Championship driver Shane van Gisbergen's victory in Chicago a few weeks back. With the New Zealand native returning to stock car racing after winning on his debut, Elliott seemed to be pleased to have him back.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver elaborated in a video clip of a press conference uploaded by frontstretch.com's Dalton Hopkins:
"I didn't know he was coming back. So that's awesome. I'm glad to hear that he got another opportunity. I mean the guy went and won the race, he deserves to race however much he wants."
NASCAR goes live from Pocono Raceway this Sunday at 2:30 pm ET.