With four wins in the regular season and inarguably being the best driver of the bunch, you’d think Chase Elliott would be the favorite to win the championship, or at least do better than the others in the playoffs. In fact, Elliott’s teammate Kyle Larson and Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. also emphasized recently how he is the clear-cut favorite.

But think again.

Because Chase Elliott himself doesn’t think so.

In an interview ahead of the first playoff race at Darlington, the Hendrick Motorsports driver opened up on the notion of him being the favorite to win the championship.

“For me, there’s never a good answer, but I try to give an honest take on it,” he said. “Just because we have a win more than other people doesn’t mean other people aren’t capable of winning or having a really good day.”

“There are a lot of really talented drivers and a lot of really smart people working at these teams.”

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Is Chase Elliott feeling comfortable with a 40-point playoff advantage??

Speaking about his advantage in terms of his points cushion, Chase Elliott emphasized that nobody is safe “at any point in time,” and that drivers must respect the format from week one all the way up to week ten.

“I don’t think there is ever a period of time where you should think anything is taken for granted. No amount of playoff points is ever safe,” he said.

Elliott continued by pointing out how each round is so short that a driver could endure back-to-back bad weeks without doing anything wrong. “Next thing you know, you’re in a position where you have to win the last race. That can happen to the guy who is first in points or the guy that is last,” he added.

“No one is safe from that.”

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