Chase Elliott is confident that he will achieve a victory in the upcoming 2024 season. The Next-Gen debut year started off strong for Chase Elliott and William Byron, as they both performed impressively. Chase Elliott went on to win the 2022 regular season championship, but missed out on the title in the playoffs. Unfortunately, his hopes of continuing his dominance over his teammate in 2023 were cut short due to a snowboarding accident that kept him sidelined for six weeks. Since then, the No:9 Chevy team has been struggling to regain momentum.
While Chase Elliott has been facing difficulties, his teammate William Byron has been dominating the scene. Together, they won a total of 10 races last season, with Byron leading the way with six wins. They have carried this form into the 2024 season, with four wins in the first eight races (Byron with 3 wins). This puts them in a good position for another potential championship-4 entry.
According to a pit-reporter from Fox Sports, who happens to be the first African American in NASCAR, Elliott is personally motivated by his teammate’s dominance. He believes that this will inspire the 2020 NASCAR Cup champion to overcome his poor form and return to winning races. Elliott’s third-place finish at Martinsville last week could be a sign of his improvement.
“Chase has really taken it to heart and worked harder… when you see your teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron going out there dominating, you take that type of stuff personally and it looks like to that point Chase is taking it personal and he’s starting to get back to the point where he’s obviously clicking,” said Josh Sims via PRN.
The former champion feels that he has gained positive momentum since the end of the 2023 season and has carried it into the 2024 season. He believes that this direction can lead them to success and ultimately the long-awaited victory.
“I feel like throughout a lot of the season this year we’ve just been going in a very positive direction. If we keep producing that, we’ll get our turn one day,” said Chase Elliott.
Heading into this weekend’s race at Texas, although it is not Elliott’s favorite track due to the re-configuration, the HMS team remains hopeful for positive results. A consecutive top-5 finish would provide the necessary momentum for Elliott to secure an important win, which would earn him a spot in the playoffs.