"It’s not necessarily something I’m proud of" - Why Chase Elliott is not celebrating his Pocono win yet

#9 NAPA Chevy driver Chase Elliott had a very fascinating weekend at Pocono Raceway. He crossed the finish line third but ended up carrying the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 trophy home without leading a single lap.

His win came as a surprise a few hours after the checkered flag was dropped. Everyone was convinced that Joe Gibbs Racing carried the day with two of its cars taking a clean 1-2 finish.

Denny Hamlin was the official race winner, while Kyle Busch drove his #18 M&M Toyota TRD to second place. A few hours later, NASCAR overturned the result, confirming Chase Elliott as the new race winner and disqualifying #11 and #18 due to post-race infractions.

Following the disqualification, Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing declared that they won’t appeal the ruling. This leaves Elliott as the official winner of the 2022 M&M Fan Appreciation 400.

Despite the win being handed over to him, Chase Elliott didn’t celebrate it like his other wins. According to him, it wasn’t right to celebrate someone else’s misfortunes. Speaking to FOX reporter Bob Pockrass, Elliott said the win was not something he was going to boast about.

In his statement, Chase Elliott said:

“I don’t really know that it’s a win that I’m going to celebrate anyway. For me, I don’t really feel right celebrating someone else’s misfortune, number one…It’s not necessarily something I’m proud of or something I’m going to boast about.’’

This was expected from a driver of his stature, but at the end of the day, history will only remember the win on record.

The recent win marks his fourth win of the season, ranking him as the only driver with four wins this season. Chase Elliott is having one of the best years of his career, dominating race after race.

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Chase Elliott's performances in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season

The first half of the season was a little tough with a couple of disappointing performances, but the second half that began in Nashville has been a success, sitting between victories and runner-up finishes.

He won his second race of the season in Nashville after outdueling Kurt Busch and Ryan Blaney. The win was followed by a runner-up finish at Road America. Following that, he won the Atlanta race before finishing second in New Hampshire and eventually winning at Pocono.

The M&M Fans Appreciation 400 was not the only trophy he added to his display this weekend. Before lining up for Sunday’s event, Elliott competed in the SRX series on Saturday night, racing against NASCAR legends like Tony Stewart. Despite racing against the veteran, Elliott prevailed and carried the trophy home. At the moment, he is the top contender for the 2022 championship.