The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season has been a story of quiet determination for Chase Elliott, the 2020 champion who has, against a backdrop of headline-making performances by others, quietly built one of the most consistent campaigns of his career. While names like Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin have dominated new cycles with wins, controversies, and playoff implications, Elliott remained steady, silently stacking top 10s and top 5s, but he was yet to snag a win. Kyle Petty didn’t mince words, “Chase has got to step up and if we’re complacent and we’re satisfied with ‘as good as it gets,’ so be it. I’m not.”

And Elliott stepped up big time during the Quaker State 400. The driver of the #9 Chevy made a last-lap pass on Brad Keselowski to clinch his first win of 2025, snapping a 44-race winless streak. From struggling to win a race this year to now getting in the race to win the regular season title, Elliott has made quite a leap. And, this sheer consistency was appreciated by his rival, Denny Hamlin, who warned William Byron of how Elliott can dethrone him.

Elliott’s numbers tell the story of a comeback in progress

In a recent episode of his podcast, ‘Actions Detrimental,’ Denny Hamlin candidly revealed the drops in points standings, with the strongest contender, Chase Elliott, trailing just a few points behind his own teammate, William Byron. “Boy, what a quiet second,” said Hamlin. “I mean, when I say we, I’m talking about the 24, the 5, and the 11 just absolutely shi—– in the bed when it comes to these regular season points. And the 9 is just steady. Steady Eddie, and found himself now second in points.”

“Byron had a sizable lead at one point. He’s had a couple bad weeks in a row. Elliott’s now second in points. I’m back to fourth. I think that’s right,” recalled Hamlin. From Byron’s pit road penalty at Charlotte to Larson’s crash out in the Coca-Cola 600, Elliott has simply avoided trouble. Over the past 18 races, the #9 team has scored ten Top-10s, six Top-5s, leading 136 laps with an average finish of 10.278, and also hasn’t posted a finish worse than 20th. He capitalized on making the most of the race when he didn’t win, and he got the big result in his backyard in Atlanta. Now, sitting second, Elliott’s calm, mistake-free approach is proving more effective than the streaky performances of his high-profile teammates.

“The 24, I thought was a full-blown lock to win this regular season championship, just because I think he’s been running as good, if not actually a little better than the 5 here lately on speed and a few other things, execution-wise,” continued Hamlin. “Certainly, I think he should be more worried about Chase Elliott than Kyle Larson if the two had the exact same amount of points with 5 races to go.” At the midway point of the 2025 season, William Byron looked like a clear frontrunner for the regular dominant speed at tracks like Las Vegas, where he outran even Kyle Larson in raw pace. However, execution has become the Achilles’ heel for the #24 team. In the last four Cup starts, they have only managed a single top 10 result, while the #9 team has a streak of three top 5s.

In the past three races, Elliott has outscored both Byron and Larson, as the two will now have to keep a watchful eye for the other. “I think the 9 is more dangerous because he is not going to have the bad finishes that we have,” said Hamlin. “He just doesn’t DNF. He is just quiet. He is like Chris Buescher but slightly better results. Does that make any sense?” Elliott remains one of just two full-time Cup Series drivers without a DNF this season.

Therefore, this is exactly what Denny Hamlin warns the HMS star about. “I would, if I’m Byron, I’m sweating now that the 9 is the next in line, just because I think he’s steady and fast enough to really have to keep the 24 honest to not have really bad days,” said Hamlin. With just a 37-point gap between the #24 and #9 teammates, it won’t be long before Elliott can catch up and fight eye-to-eye for the regular season title.

Along the way, Jared Allen also noted that the NASCAR community has been putting “a little more respect on Chase Elliott’s season,” and Hamlin agreed that it is how it should be. “I mean, they should. If you look at his results, he’s got some top fives in there,” said Hamlin. “I don’t know how many he’s got, but I think over the last five races, I feel like he’s got three of them or so.” Elliott’s performances haven’t just boosted his playoff seeding; they have also reminded the garage why Elliott remains one of the most complete drivers on the grid.

Chase Elliott‘s consistency has become impossible to ignore with the playoff races quickly approaching. While others chase headlines, he may just be quietly chasing a second title. But NASCAR’s most popular driver isn’t content with a single win and he’s identified a key area of improvement for his team to work on.

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Chase Elliott demands more raw speed from his #9 Chevy Camaro

In the Next Gen era, track position is the king. In essence this race in Atlanta was a wildcard as all the major contenders like Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric crashed out in the Big One that happened in Stage 2. Only Kyle Larson and SVG were the drivers left who had already sealed their place in the playoffs. So, all the drivers who were on the hunt for that almighty win had the opportunity to duke it out.

For Elliott, he feels his team needs to prepare more quick cars and capitalize on the track position right from the qualifying rounds. He has an average starting position of 15.5, but his average finish stands at 10.278. Clearly, he is driving much better on the racetrack despite being on a disadvantage. “I think I’m asking for the right things, and we just have to keep trying to squeeze a little bit more and put together solid weekends from start to finish qualifying. You really need to qualify better, I would put that one at the top of our list of the biggest weakness,” Elliott shared this while speaking to Kevin Harvick.

A better starting position in the top 10, and who knows, we might see the #9 car snag more wins in the regular season. Those extra 15 playoffs points by winning the regular season championship could be huge for Elliott and his team in their bid to win the title by the end of the year.