It was certainly not the “typical” season for longtime fan favorite and 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott. He missed seven races total – recovering from a broken leg and serving a one-race suspension – and was never able to make up enough points to qualify for the super-competitive 16-driver Playoff field.
That’s not to say the season wasn’t productive, however. He said the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team still learned a lot and remains perhaps more motivated than ever.
Despite missing the races, Elliott, 27, was still successful enough to climb to 17th in the season standings – the first position outside the 16-driver playoff field. His seven top-five finishes and 15 top-10 efforts are both more than three Playoff drivers who competed in every race. The 18-time winner would like to continue a five-year streak of winning at least one race a season.
“You’re always wanting to be better,” Elliott said of missing the first Playoff of his eight-year fulltime career in the series.
“I think we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and the things I need to do better. I know I’ve learned a lot about myself and areas I want to improve in. Will try to tackle a lot of that this weekend, and get a head-start on things we want to improve o for next year. Hopefully tomorrow goes well and we can end it on a positive note.”
“It’s not where I want to be, so I’m not happy with it. I want to be better. I feel like I have a really, really strong team and guys working hard every week to give me the thigs I want and need and that’s all you can ask for. I just want to continue on that path and continue to work hard like we have been, and I think the hard work and resilience of not quitting and giving up will eventually get us where we need to go.”
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