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USA Today via Reuters

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USA Today via Reuters

The NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 promises to be a topsy-turvy affair with the tracks on offer. The challenge of maneuvering the Talladega Superspeedway and The Roval at Charlotte means drivers will need a strong performance at Las Vegas to strengthen their chances. Chase Elliott believes stage points will play a very key role in the same.

Elliott feels that earning stage points are very important in the larger scheme of things and that all the drivers are aware of that.

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Why Chase Elliott feels stage points can be decisive

“Stage points are huge. Everybody knows that now. 10-20 points in a stage, that’s a ton. So I think everybody knows how important stages are and what they can mean. Especially stage wins, getting that bonus point is a huge thing,” Chase Elliott said during a media interaction.

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USA Today via Reuters

Elliott says that earning stage points became an important part of the teams’ strategies over the years.

That’s certainly a game that’s being played. I don’t know if it was played that much in that first year we had this (of the playoff system),” he said.

“But ever since that first year, it has been known and everybody gets that. It’s just gotten more and more aggressive as time has gone on, to perform well in stages,” Elliott added.

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The importance of stage wins

Elliott won a stage in the last race of the first round of the Playoffs, at the Bristol Motor Speedway. He also did well during the stages in the previous race at the Richmond Raceway.

“I think it makes it important to run good throughout the entire race. I thought our stage results at Richmond and Bristol were good and that’s what really allowed us to get through,” Elliott said.

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USA Today via Reuters

Elliott also expressed that he expects the following race at Talladega to be very difficult for him. That is also why the stage points are more important for him.

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Elliott starts in 3rd place in the first race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. He started the Playoffs with a 20th place finish at Darlington. He came back strongly after that to register 5th and 7th place finishes at Richmond and Bristol, respectively.

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