"We just kind of survived" - Chase Elliott says racing at Darlington Raceway was not 'anything spectacular'

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott has been on a rollercoaster ride this season, which didn't seem to take off until his victory at Dover Motor Speedway. The 26-year-old driver won his first race of the season at 'The Monster Mile' in the DuraMAX Drydene 400.

The rollercoaster seemingly slowed down again, according to Elliott, as he finished in a respectable fifth place at Darlington Raceway. Elliott was not particularly impressed with the race he and his crew ran, as he thought having lady luck on one's side was key.

The Dawsonville, Georgia native highlighted the importance of being in the right place at the right time and said:

“We just kind of survived, really. It wasn’t anything spectacular by any means. I thought we had our No. 9 NAPA Chevy in a pretty good spot there on a couple occasions. It was just kind of a matter of how you restarted; whether you had a fortunate set of circumstances that your lane went forward and you were able to get a couple of spots here and a couple spots there."

Chase also touched upon how key the pit stops and restarts were during the 400-mile race at 'The Lady in Black' and said:

"And then you hope your pit stops are really fast and then hope you do a good job on the next restart.”

Elliott will be hoping to keep this top-five streak going at the upcoming Advent Health 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Chase Elliott explains why he ran the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway

2022 DuraMAX Drydene 400 winner Chase Elliott recently spoke in a press conference at the Goodyear 400 race weekend at Darlington Raceway about his Xfinity Series participation.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver also raced in the Mahindra Roxor 200 to gain more experience at the track, which has been one of the weak points of the 26-year-old driver.

Notable NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass tweeted Elliott's response from the press conference, where he said:

"We did have a choice and I wanted to do this one. I just feel like I've struggled here the last couple of years and haven't done a great job so wanted some extra laps."

See the press conference below:

Chase Elliott ultimately finished in P5 in the Goodyear 400, and will be looking forward to keeping this momentum going for next weekend's Advent Health 400 at Kansas Speedway.