It has been a difficult season for Chase Elliott. While race after race, his playoff chances diminish little by little, there’s a hint of optimism still present among the fans. Despite finishing 10th in the race at Pocono Raceway, there’s a long way to go for the Hendrick Motorsports driver if he is to make it to the final 16. While this is an unexpected scenario for Elliott, his reaction to this situation is not that different either.

Having qualified for the playoffs in his last seven seasons, it would be unnatural to not have the #9 driver there this campaign. With only five races left in the regular season, it has now turned into a daunting task for Elliott and HMS.

Chase Elliott gets candid about his playoff chances ahead of the race at Richmond Raceway

There is no doubt that Chase Elliott has had a rocky season so far. Having missed out on six races because of a snowboarding injury and one more owing to his suspension, it has only been an uphill task since then. He currently sits 56 points below the last playoff slot.

With five races left, it is highly unlikely that points will do the trick for him. As many have predicted earlier, it is only a win that could suit Elliott’s cause in this case. What makes it more difficult for him is that he has a minimum of five other races strongly fighting for his spot, including HMS teammate Alex Bowman.

With his odds to make it to the playoffs taking a hit every day, the Georgian native has somewhat become an underdog in the race. Recently, when interviewed by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, he discussed this unique situation he finds himself in.

The interviewer asked him, “With the playoffs coming up, you’re kind of in more of an underdog role now compared to some of the other teams out there. Is that a role you kind of enjoy and embrace?” To this, Elliott somewhat had an unexpected response.

In fact, he had a blunt 4-word answer to it. He said, “I don’t really care.” Elliott followed it up by informing where his focus lay. He said, “I’m just looking forward to getting to the track and doing my job.”

READ MORE – Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson Unite to Slam Their Careless Teammate

Well, that certainly speaks a lot about how he has leveled himself despite the demanding nature of the situation. In fact, what he spoke next says a lot about his mentality.

Chase Elliott shares his mental state amid the grave challenge he faces in qualifying for the playoffs

At the beginning of the season, hardly anyone could have foreseen what’s happening with Chase Elliott right now. It must definitely be frustrating to be in his shoes right now. He said, “I feel good honestly, just looking forward to the coming weeks and seeing kind of where it all shakes out. So yeah, I feel good on my end and I feel like our team’s in a good place too. So, we’re just working through it.” While this is good to hear, what he said about the sport next is more interesting.

Elliott said, “This is a sport that is going to be a bit of a roller coaster sometimes. You have to just ride it and there’s going to be days where everything goes your way and even periods of time that it seems like things are going good. And there’s going to be times where it’s not but I think the big thing to that is just ride the roller coaster and don’t get too far up on the good days and and then also apply that on the bad ones too.”

Clearly, the HMS driver is trying to be patient with his approach and let his performance do the talking. While that’s appreciable, a win must come his way to help his playoffs cause. Could he do it at Richmond Raceway on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below.

Watch This Story: 5-Time NBA All-Star Feels Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman “Have Not Performed at All” as He Gives Them an Ultimatum