Chase Elliott currently sits in the ninth position in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. Although his teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron are ahead of him in the 2nd and 4th positions, Elliott too is having a good season so far. After a challenging previous season, Hendrick Motorsports and Elliott are collaborating to secure a spot in the playoffs. Before their practice session ahead of the Phoenix race, Elliott appeared visibly unsettled by certain questions posed during an interview. What made him feel uneasy?

Was Chase Elliott exhausted at the end of last season?

Elliott was going through a lot last season. He missed participating in seven races, which eventually made his time hard while trying to qualify for the playoffs. Taking that into reference, a Sirius XM reporter asked him if he was spent and in a far better place than he was last season. To which Chase Elliott replied,

“No, I mean, I was just, you know, at that point, obviously, our season was all but over. And we were just trying to think about this year—at least I was. And just trying to think about what I could do to drive the car in a better way that suits the way it wants to be driven. But no, I mean, I wasn’t necessarily spent,” said Elliott. He added, “Yeah, I was frustrated at different times, but I mean, I could be frustrated today and you wouldn’t know.” 

Elliott continued, “So some days I might show it a little more than others. But it’s not because I don’t want to be here or it’s not because I don’t want to do good. In fact, it’s really the exact opposite. It’s because I do want to do well and it’s because I do care. And you can take that for whatever you want. But I just want to be good at my job, you know, that’s about it.”

Given the circumstances that he had to go through, frustration was quite natural for Hendrick Motorsports‘ #9. It is possible that Elliott would have qualified for the playoffs if he hadn’t missed those races and points. The frustration would not have kicked in as well, making his time better in the final stages of the season.

A disappointing 2023 season for ‘Chase’

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Chase Elliott faced a significant setback in the early stages of last season. During the weekend of the third race at Las Vegas, Elliott sustained a fractured tibia in a snowboarding accident. This injury forced him to miss the next six races, putting him in a position where he needed to play catch-up for the remainder of the regular season.

Even though he came fighting back after the accident, Elliott’s playoff chances were low. During the Coca-Cola 600, fuelled by frustration over Denny Hamlin’s racing tactics, Elliott retaliated by making contact with Hamlin’s right rear quarter panel. This collision sent Hamlin crashing into the outside wall. After reviewing in-car data, NASCAR officials concluded that Elliott intentionally caused the wreck. As a consequence, they sidelined Elliott for the next race, resulting in a total of seven missed races for the year.

It would be interesting to see if Chase Elliott makes it to the playoffs this time. What are your predictions regarding this?

Read More: Amid Snowboarding Fiasco, Chase Elliott Had Another Injury That He Hid While Fighting for Rick Hendrick’s Owners Championship