After winning last Sunday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway, Chase Elliott had neither the time nor the inclination to celebrate.
“To be real honest, I came home and went to bed—just to be real clear on that,” said the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “I would have loved to come home, had a few beers, whatever, hung out. Just kind of the way it worked out. We had meetings Monday morning, obviously a big week of prep going into this last event.
“Really just kind of after the race tried to enjoy the moment, embrace it, recognize that situations and moments like that don’t happen every day. Really enjoy that. At the same time, just get ready and think about Monday and what we’re going to talk about in our meetings looking ahead to Phoenix.”
If Elliott comes to his first Championship 4 appearance with single-minded focus, Hamlin appreciates the value of diversion as he faces the pressure of his third title race under the current elimination format. Last year, Hamlin played tennis on the eve of the season finale.
This year, Hamlin, a single-digit handicapper, will spend part of his Phoenix visit on the golf course.
“I’m different when it comes to that,” Hamlin said. “I look for distractions versus people trying to avoid them. I tried to avoid them in 2010 (when he lost a heartbreaker to Jimmie Johnson), and it was the worst mistake I ever made was just not enjoying the weekend. It was my birthday weekend. Why wouldn’t I celebrate that anyway?
“It’s my personality. I make sure that I spend the dedicated amount of time I need to do to prepare, and beyond that, I do my normal, everyday routine, which is just live life. I was at a friend’s daughter’s birthday party a couple days ago, and I’ll go golfing tomorrow for the next couple days, and I’m just—I’m happy with the result, because I know that I’m going to be prepared when I get in the car on Sunday to do the best job possible.”
Hamlin comes to Phoenix with seven wins this season. Elliott brings four victories to his Championship 4 debut.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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