A return behind the wheel of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet last Sunday at Martinsville Speedway did not result in a win for Chase Elliott, but for a driver looking to jump back into the competitive NASCAR Cup Series, a 10th-place finish certainly sufficed.
However, for Elliott, top-five and top-10 finishes might not be enough to clinch a bid in this year’s playoffs. After missing six weeks of action due to a leg injury, the reigning five-time Most Popular Driver Award winner might need to win a race should he wish to participate in 2023 postseason play and have another chance at the Bill France Cup.
For the 27-year-old, the underlying motivation will always be to win as a driver and to succeed as a team, no matter the circumstance.
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“We all want to win as a group,” Elliott said. “It’s not because of my absence that we want to win any more than we already did before. But we certainly recognize, hey, points probably aren’t going to work from the driver side, and certainly points in on the owners’ side.
“But yeah, from the driver’s side, it’s gonna be tough to do without a win, so I think it’s more just recognizing the job at hand and what we’re going to have to do to be part of the show, and just having that goal set in front of you, I think, it’s kind of fun. It’s very simple, and it’s pretty straightforward in what we need to go do, so it’s been, yeah, it’s a different feeling, I guess, than what it’s been, but we’re really embracing it as a group, and I’ve embraced it on my end.”
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For the 18-time Cup winner and 2020 Cup Series champion, the newfound hurdle will not be one Elliott wishes to back down from. Instead, it will be one to embrace.
“I’m kind of excited about the challenge, really,” Elliott said. “It’s kind of unique and kind of fun. Either win and you’re in, or don’t, and you fail, so I kind of like it.”
Elliott and the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series field will next race on April 23 at Talladega Superspeedway in the GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).