Chase Elliott’s start to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs was good and bad at the same time. While the end result indicates a poor day for the 24-year-old, the reality of the matter is far from it.

Despite finishing 20th in a race that Kevin Harvick won, Elliott showed the rest of the field what he has in store as the Playoffs continue. Now, Harvick believes that Chase Elliott has quite a lot in his favor going forward.

“I think this lines up well for Chase. When you look at the race tracks, obviously they’ve run well here. He’s a very good road course racer. Runs well at Bristol,” Harvick said after his eighth win of the season.

Kevin Harvick is aware of the Chase Elliott challenge

In the No. 9 car, Elliott could have very well finished as the winner, or at least in the Top-3, if not for a late-race incident with Martin Truex Jr. The two drivers made contact while battling for the lead and crashed into the wall. That gave Harvick the chance to overtake them.

While Harvick continued his merry run, he believes Chase Elliott is not far away from challenging him for the big prize.

“So when you look at how the race tracks line up, if they capitalize on their strengths, they have a very good opportunity to do what they need to do. Runs well at Martinsville too,” Harvick continued.

“As you look at those things, now you just have to try to capitalize on your strengths and go from there. So there’s definitely a handful of races that line up well for him,” Harvick added.

Chance to excel at Bristol and Martinsville

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The Hendrick Motorsports man had mixed fortunes earlier this season at the tracks mentioned by Harvick as his strengths. Elliott will be motivated to do well at the Bristol Motor Speedway after having bagged the 22nd position there. He has three Top-5 finishes at Bristol.

At the Martinsville Speedway, Elliott had a Top-5 finish earlier this season. He has three Top-5 finishes there in all, apart from two other Top-10 finishes. He will look to continue his good run there.

Elliott is yet to make the Round of 8 in the Playoffs, and with his current form and the road ahead, many believe he will finally make the Championship 4 race this year.