JR Motorsports driver eyes first top-10 finish at restrictor-plate track
Much of the attention given to Chase Elliott lately has centered around his five scheduled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts as he readies to replace Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet next season. Elliott performed well at Richmond Sunday, finishing 16th in just his second NSCS start.
Quietly, the 19-year-old Georgia native has climbed to second in the NASCAR XFINITY Series standings, eight points behind leader Ty Dillon. Elliott posted a fifth-place showing in last Friday's ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond, jumping Chris Buescher in the standings as he tries to defend his XFINITY Series championship.
Since his 28th-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona, Elliott has produced seven consecutive top-10 finishes, including four top fives. The NASCAR Next alum will put his streak on the line in Saturday's Winn Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET on FOX).
Restrictor-plate tracks have proven to be Elliott’s kryptonite in his young career. He has only finished outside of the top 10 in eight of his XFINITY Series races (19.5%), including all four of his restrictor-plate contests. His best restrictor-plate finish was 15th at Daytona in his XFINITY Series debut last year. Elliott placed 19th at Talladega last spring.
Elliott feels his experience at the Alabama track from last season has prepared him for Saturday's showdown.
"It's really tough to plan for a race like this, since there's so much uncertainty that can happen," he said. "We were in contention last year late in the race, but got caught up in a wreck, which eventually killed our day. Going into this Saturday's race, I have more confidence knowing I've been in a late-race situation there."