Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott has the reputation of being despondent at times following his spate of second-place finishes since joining the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series full time in 2016.
Saturday’s runner-up showing at Richmond Raceway was the eighth of his career, but one that elicited a different type of emotion — perhaps more relief than anything else.
MORE: Full Richmond race results
Elliott, who entered Saturday’s race 23rd in the standings, gutted out his best finish of the year, trailing only race-winner Kyle Busch. Elliot qualified second, fell back in the field, but rallied late after a spate of end-race cautions that benefited his No. 9 Chevrolet, which had excellent short-run speed.
MORE: Most runner-up finishes before a win
“Circumstances were on our side tonight, which is not normal. So I’m happy about that,” Elliott told FOX Sports after the race with a trace of a smile on his face. ” … It wasn’t pretty for sure. We have a lot of work to do, I still feel like, to have the speed that we need and have the car like I want it to.
“But it was still nice to be on the good side of things for the first time in a while.”
Great effort by my team tonight to come back to 2nd, it wasn’t pretty but we’re doing some of the things it takes well. Onward.
– Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) April 22, 2018
It’s been a slog at times for Elliott and his Hendrick teammates this year as they adapt to the new Camaro ZL1, but the on-track performance has noticeably upticked in April.
The summer stretch looms, and with it the opportunity for Elliott and his teammates to join the mix as race winners and perhaps even championship contenders. Even with Elliott’s sunnier disposition, though, there remains an undercurrent of reality.
“I think we’ve been getting better, for sure, over the course of the past handful of weeks. I thought last week was really probably our best effort as a company,” Elliott said. “I think we have to continue to be realistic with ourselves. We can’t look at the results tonight and think we’re right there, because in reality I think we still have some work to do.”