Chase Elliott enters Martinsville on the tail finish of the Spherical of 8 standings, 62 factors beneath the cutline. But if there’s one observe the place he can flip the tide, it’s this one. Martinsville has lengthy been Elliott’s stronghold. He gained there in 2020 and holds an 11.7 common end on the paperclip-shaped circuit.
Even final 12 months, in the course of the penultimate race of the season, Elliott appeared able to punch his ticket to the finale. He gained Stage 1 and led 129 laps, second solely to Brad Keselowski’s 170, earlier than Ryan Blaney stole the lead on Lap 486 of 500 and pulled away to win by 2.593 seconds.
Elliott crossed the road second, eradicated from playoff competition alongside teammate and third-place finisher Kyle Larson, finally wrapping up the season seventh in factors.
The #9 HMS driver’s consistency at Martinsville stays simple. Three straight top-five finishes within the final three races communicate for themselves. But, as Jamie McMurray famous, predicting how Elliott will carry out is like studying smoke. Not like emotional racers corresponding to Denny Hamlin, Elliott retains his playing cards near the vest.
That’s why when Steve Letarte mentioned on Contained in the Race, “I don’t assume it’s loopy to assume Chase Elliott may win,” McMurray replied, “He’s the toughest man in the entire collection, I feel, to foretell how they’re going to do.”
Letarte additional elaborated, “You get nothing from (his) emotion. However I additionally simply take a look at the best way their season has been, and I really feel like concerning the time you depend them out, they arrive again and so they have a spectacular run. So, Chase is the toughest one for me. He may go, and he may win this weekend, or they may simply have a median day. He wouldn’t be on my checklist, although, of the man. To me, it’s extra of a Blaney that’s beneath that minimize line.”
For Elliott, the maths is easy however brutal. Even when he sweeps each levels, he can’t advance on factors alone; it’s win or bust for the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports workforce. His qualifying effort may make all of the distinction. Traditionally, Elliott has began principally within the prime 10 at Martinsville, and this time additionally, a front-row begin may be the sting he must maintain his championship hopes alive.
