“We’ve been in this spot before”: Chase Elliott unfazed by elimination pressure ahead of high-stakes Homestead-Miami race

With the 2024 playoffs approaching its final stage, former Cup Series champion Chase Elliott is in a must-win situation to contend for the Championship 4 at Phoenix. Despite the pressure, the Hendrick Motorsports racer remained unfazed during his pre-race media interaction in Miami.

Although Elliott bounced back well after a slow start to the season, his string of failures in the early part of the year have started to show their impact in the playoffs. Adding to his troubles was the multi-car crash in Las Vegas which caught him by surprise, eventually leading to a DNF. With just one win in the 34 races so far, the #9 HMS driver is currently at the bottom of the elimination bubble of the Round of 8.

However, against all odds, Elliott remains focused ahead of the Straight Talk Wireless 400 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"Yeah, I mean, I feel like overall our year has been really solid except for winning. You know, when I look at it, it's not that there's a lot to be proud of. We just haven't won as many races as we'd like to. And, outside of that, though, I look at the job that our whole team as a whole has done. And I think there's a lot of really good stuff in there," Chase Elliott said (0:01 onwards).

"I try hard not to overthink the situation or whatever. And, you know, to be candid, we've been in this spot before. So it's not like this is the first time I've been through this or had to experience this," he added (2:02 onwards)

Here's a look at the video of the entire media interaction from YouTube (via Frontstretch):

Apart from the aforementioned video, Elliot's statement was also shared on X by SiriusXM, NASCAR Radio's official page. Here's a look at the post, captioned:

“We’ve been in this spot before.” @chaseelliott has confidence in his @Hendrick9Team despite being -53 heading into @HomesteadMiami this weekend.

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"I’ve been on that side of the fence before and it sucks" - Chase Elliott expressed disappointment with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman's disqualification

Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman was pushed out of the Round of 8 as his car was disqualified for being underweight after the Charlotte ROVAL race. His teammate Chase Elliott expressed disappointment with NASCAR during a recent media interaction at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"I think while we all know that a couple pounds, or whatever it was, is likely not a difference maker in what happened during the race. It's still a rule that is pretty black and white. And it's not something that you can really do a lot about when you roll across the scales and that happens," Chase Elliott commented (0:28 onwards).

"I've been on that side of the fence before and it sucks. And at the end of the day, it wasn't anything of Alex's. It wasn't his doing. So just disappointed and bummed for him," he added (0:51 onwards).

A video of the interaction was shared on X by NASCAR journalist Dalton Hopkins. Here's a look at the post, captioned:

"Asked Chase Elliott about his reaction to Bowman’s penalty"

With just two races to go before the grand finale at Phoenix, Elliott is currently in the same spot Bowman was during the Round of 12 elimination race at Charlotte.