Chase Elliott has had a difficult stretch this season, but after yesterday’s P8 finish at the Kansas Speedway, he is not setting his sights on a race win or title hopes just yet.
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The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver admitted that a big positive from the race was avoiding the kind of errors that have cost the team and derailed their promising runs in the last few months.
In a short clip shared by Tim Moore on X, Elliott said, “Just try and stack some good days together. Obviously, you know, nice to get a top ten, nice to not, you know, make any super dumb mistakes today, at least no huge ones.”
Elliott’s goal is now to transform occasional top-10 finishes into more consistent top-five finishes, as that consistent execution will lead to more opportunities to compete for wins again.
“And yeah, see how we can turn those into consistent runs. How can we take a top ten and turn the top five and do it regularly and then you know, you’ll get your opportunities from there.”
This approach reflects the kind of form the 2020 Cup champion has had so far. While he did manage to win at Texas earlier this season, results have been difficult for him to come by lately. However, this performance offered some form of optimism.
He remained on the lead lap throughout the race and brought home an eighth-place finish while also collecting three stage points. More importantly, he left the weekend feeling that the team had finally put together a relatively clean performance.
However, instead of looking far ahead, he remains focused on building momentum, as he believes that one good result alone is not enough to erase the frustrations of the past six months.
As The Chase enters its next phase, Elliott’s steady approach could prove important for Hendrick Motorsports. The team has experienced success elsewhere in the garage, but the No. 9 group has lacked the rhythm needed to establish itself as a regular contender near the front of the field.
With a gap of 161 points between Elliott and his teammate, Kyle Larson, in the standings, it looks like they will need a miracle to get back in contention. But never say never in the Chase format. Larson bagged 76 points in a single race, and Joey Logano turned his season around with a couple of wins. The important metric here is a race win, which Elliott and his team will have to strive for.
A clean race, a top-10 finish and valuable stage points may not grab headlines in the same way a victory does, but for a driver trying to rebuild confidence and consistency, they can still matter. Most importantly, the top-10 finish was Elliott’s first in the last 6 races, so it was a much-needed break.
The next opportunity awaits Elliott at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the South Point 400 presents another chance for him to prove that Kansas was not an isolated result. The same track type and the momentum to ride after a good Kansas run is a positive indicator for the No. 9 team.
The P8 result may not have carried the excitement of the victory he celebrated at the same venue last year, but it represented an important step forward for someone who has struggled to build momentum throughout 2026. Rather than viewing this as a breakthrough on its own, Elliott framed it as the foundation for something bigger.
For now, however, Elliott appears content with a simple-but-clear objective. After months of inconsistency, avoiding mistakes and stacking solid finishes together is the priority. If these small victories continue to add up, Elliott believes the bigger opportunities will eventually follow.