2016 Season Review: Chase Elliott

After making five starts for Hendrick Motorsports in the premier series the year prior, Chase Elliott made his official full-time debut in the premier series in 2016, a yellow stripe adorning the back bumper of his No. 24 Chevrolet. And he certainly started off his freshman campaign with fireworks: Powering his new ride at 196.314 mph, Elliott snagged the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500. The then-20-year-old become the youngest polesitter in the history of The Great American Race. Elliott also won the pole at Talladega in May.

Less than a week after nabbing his first premier series pole position, Elliott earned a win, as he held off Joey Logano to win the XFINITY Series opening race at Daytona. This marked Elliott's fifth career XFINITY Series win, but first driving the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, the car typically reserved for premier series drivers making select XFINITY starts. The young driver made five more starts in the XFINITY ride in 2016, finishing all his races in the top 10.

The 2016 Sprint Showdown saw an epic battle between Elliott and Kyle Larson, as the duo crossed the start-finish line side-by-side. Larson's No. 42 Chevrolet beat Elliott's No. 24 by 0.015 seconds to win the segment and earn an invitation to the Sprint All-Star Race. However, Elliott would also earn an All-Star spot, as he won the Sprint Fan Vote.

Elliott carried the bridesmaid baton several times in 2016, as his No. 24 Chevrolet ran up front, but couldn't secure the W. He earned a pair of runner-up finishes -- a premier series career-best -- at Michigan International Speedway, led 103 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October and looked poised to win the Chase opener at Chicagoland until an ill-timed caution derailed his chance.

Elliott's 13 top-10s -- including a string of six straight during the spring -- in the first 26 races allowed him to make the 16-car Chase field on points. He and fellow rookie Chris Buescher -- who advanced with a win at Pocono -- are the only rookie drivers to make the Chase since Denny Hamlin in 2006. Elliott and teammate Jimmie Johnson represented Hendrick Motorsports in the playoffs.

Two third-place finishes in the opening round of the Chase allowed Elliott to the next round comfortably. However, he struggled in the next round earning a 31st-place finish at Kansas after crashing on a restart while running in the top four at Charlotte the week prior. He entered Talladega in a must-win scenario, but came up 12th and was thus eliminated from the playoffs.

Elliott's 10 top-fives in his rookie season surpassed Kyle Larson's eight in his 2014 rookie campaign. He finished an impressive season with 17 top 10s, which was more than that of six Chase drivers, including the 2016 champion, Jimmie Johnson. Elliott's strong on-track performances allowed him to spend 14 weeks inside the top 10 throughout his rookie year. He finished the season 10th in points, higher than Larson finished in what was a successful rookie year for the No. 42 driver in 2014.

A strong rookie season allowed Elliott to beat out Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Brian Scott for Sunoco Rookie of the Year. With Johnson winning the title and Dale Earnhardt Jr. earning Most Popular Driver, Hendrick Motorsports came up strong at the year-end banquet in Las Vegas.