A former Hendrick Motorsports star once said something over the team radio that would leave a lasting impression on Chase Elliott. The 2020 Cup Series champion had struggled to build on his title success, winning just 12 races over the last six years. His 2023 campaign was particularly difficult. Somewhere along the way, that radio quote gave Elliott a different perspective on how he approached racing.

Now in 2026, he is well in the Chase with two wins under his belt. Unfortunately, he is languishing in 12th in the standings. Meanwhile, teammate Kyle Larson is the in-form driver for Hendrick Motorsports. However, the #9 driver has insisted that he can be a threat, and that is thanks to a change in approach.

“I heard Kasey Kahne describe, years ago, I was listening to the race on the radio, I wasn’t racing,” he told Andrew Kurland. “He had a good day at Martinsville, ran first or second or something. Maybe he finished second or third, Jimmie won the race. He’s like, ‘Yeah we were really good, my window to get it right is like this and Jimmie’s window to get it right is like this, and that’s fine.'”

What makes Kasey Kahne’s influence interesting is how rarely he spoke up on the team radio. The former Hendrick Motorsports driver competed in the No. 5 Chevrolet from 2012 to 2017 but was known for keeping his thoughts to himself, even during tense moments on the track.

According to the 30-year-old, he interpreted that as trying to find the perfect window of opportunity. To him, being a good driver is being able to deliver at the highest level with the machinery that you have.

Additionally, not every driver will have the luxury of having a perfect day, and in NASCAR there is no such thing. So Chase Elliott has set a goal for himself to maximise his performance in the final few races.

Chase Elliott enjoyed a decent day at Las Vegas

In October, the NASCAR community headed to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the second time. Chase Elliott had good memories from seven months ago when he finished as the runner-up. He talked about why he was able to run so well during the spring race.

“What exactly? I don’t know. Obviously I know it was a good day, I know the car was doing the things that I wanted it to do. I was just getting really good responses out of different parts of our car that I asked for, a lot,” Elliott continued. “That came with some good performance, so that was nice. Because I was like, ‘Hey! If I ask for this and we’re able to get it, at least we run good. If we can make that happen.’ For me it’s just finding a way to open up that window”

Elliott came within striking distance of Denny Hamlin at Las Vegas, but ran out of laps to complete the comeback.

After losing ground during a slow left-side tire change under green-flag pit stops, Elliott fought his way back into contention and closed to within a second of Hamlin. He ultimately finished second in the Pennzoil 400 on March 15, 2026, just 0.502 seconds behind the winner.

Then, earlier this month turned out a little differently. Elliott salvaged a top-10 finish at Las Vegas despite battling handling issues late in the race. Starting 13th, the Hendrick Motorsports driver worked his way forward and made an aggressive move underneath Austin Cindric that forced the No. 2 car up the track and into Bubba Wallace’s path. Elliott gained valuable track position from the move and crossed the line seventh in the South Point 400 on October 4.

Admittedly, Elliott has never won at Las Vegas, but there’s always a first time for everything.