Hampton, Ga. – Chase Elliott does not often show emotion, but the accuracy he showed by winning Sunday evening in Atlanta said that this victory was a highlight among its 20 NASCAR STAPS Victories.
Elliott was not the only excited.
Having grown up and still living 85 miles from the track, Elliott remains the most popular pilot of Nascar and one of the favorite sons of Georgia with regard to athletes.
Chase Elliott famous after the race of the Nascar Cup Quaker State 400 series
It was more obvious in the roar of the crowd when they encouraged his triumph.
“Seeing them excited after the race for me was simply crazy,” said Elliott. “It was surreal. I don’t really know how to describe it else. It is only one of those moments that you want to be bottled and relive it.”
Elliott has not had much chance of living victory celebrations in recent years.
The 2020 Cup champion made a sequence of 44 races without victory with the victory. Not only had he not won a race this year, but he hadn’t even won a stage. During his 99 previous departures, Elliott had won only one victory.
Thus, while he had five top five and nine top 10 in 17 races on Sunday evening, the solid but-pas-trophy season of Elliott had the atmosphere of more pretender than competitor.
Chase Elliott famous after winning the Nascar Cup Quaker State 400 series
The victory on Saturday evening may have changed all this. He won a wild race where only 21 pilots finished on the head and 12 of the 40 cars were eliminated by accidents.
The race in Atlanta, a 1.54 mile high bank track, is supposed to be the same style as Daytona and Talladega. But drivers could often do shopping even without help. Now when they had help, the race was practically unstoppable.
The races at the end were furious, and one of the best in this racing style, Brad Keselowskiwas in front of the last laps. But Elliott, with the help of a push from his teammate Hendrick Alex Bowmancame out at the front, then Keselowski had no help because Bowman was certainly not to push Keselowski in front of his teammate.
“All the cards fell in the right places there these last laps,” said Elliott. “What a crazy race. … It was wild from my seat. I’m so happy that we were able to run this thing there.”
Elliott would probably not have won without the thrust on which he could count from a teammate like Bowman.
“I didn’t really have a choice there in the last round of what I was going to do,” said Bowman. “There was no opportunity for me to win the race, unfortunately. The way the race would mix the leader with each handful of laps, I just driven too early there. … I’m just wrong and I did not maintain control of the race.”
For Bowman, having won Elliott, the race was better than the other drivers, because Bowman is on the bubble to make the playoffs on points. Elliott was a driver without a victory but seemed to be in a comfortable position with regard to the points.
But the rest of the pilots who jockey for the victory – Brad Keselowski was second, followed by Bowman, Tyler Reddick,, Erik JonesRicky Stenhouse Jr. and Zane Smith – could have had an impact on the hopes of Bowman to make the playoffs.
“I did not think about it, but you are not mistaken,” said Bowman about Elliott’s victory being good for him personally. “Obviously, it’s a team of us (Hendrick drivers) here, so having a Hendrick car in Victory Lane is always a good thing.
Alex Bowman puts heat shields before the operation of the NASCAR CUP Quaker State 400 series
Obviously, it was a good thing for Elliott, who could be proud to win the wilderness, but as he noted, he will win victories in all ways he can obtain them.
“Just to win a race, it’s generally,” said Elliott. I’m not going to become picky with if it’s wild or boring. It was nice to go out on the good. It could have been one of the five or six at the end.
“For me, fortunately, the races really timed at the ideal moment, and we were able to do something with them.”
Elliott obtained results from top to bottom in Atlanta, with a single top-10 in his four departures since a victory in July 2022. He did not work well when he sported a painting program designed by a patient from Healthcare de Healthcare d’Atlanta as part of a fundraising program by its foundation.
So it made a special special special night.
It was a special evening in manufacturing in recent months. A bad stop at the Kansas stand ruined its luck in this race in early May. In the previous two weeks, he finished third in Mexico City and Fifth in Pocono, where he showed more speed.
Elliott is not as much absorbed by the results as much as the process and the way they run, regardless of what is happening with the results.
“Were we relevant? Do we really have a blow? I believe in this sport, if you do all these good things, it is something he is proud of,” said Elliott. “And if you do them regularly, you will get your turn. The last three or four weeks have been an example.”
And how will Elliott celebrate in the short hours of Sunday morning after having satisfied his media obligations? He planned to take home.
“It’s not that far,” said Elliott, who should be able to travel in about two hours. “I’m going to sleep in my bed.”
Bob Pockrass covers Nascar and Indycar for Fox Sports. He has spent decades to cover motorsport, including more than 30 Daytona 500, with stays in ESPN, Sporting News, Nascar Scene Magazine and Le (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow it on Twitter @bobpockrash.
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