Xfinity champion Chase Elliott sees room for improvement
The rest of the Xfinity Series field can be placed on alert. Defending champion Chase Elliott has this view on his 2015 season: "There's a lot of room for improvement."
Considering what Elliott, a raw rookie at 18, accomplished in 2014, the new year,could be sensational.
Elliott, son of NASCAR Hall of Fame member and 1988 Sprint Cup champion Bill Elliott, last year became the youngest driver to win a major NASCAR championship, breezing to the Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series title. He finished 42 points in front of JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith, clinching the championship with one race remaining. His total of 26 top-10 finishes in 33 races was matched only by Smith.
On the brink of the chase for a second championship in a row, where's the space for upgrades?
"I think our general goal is to win more races," Elliott told Paste BN Sports. "I look back at last year, and I watch races again and see a lot of areas where I don't think we did a very good job later on in the season — not really running like I think we need to. There's a lot of room for improvement."
Maybe in statistics but not in tone. In a series dominated by invading Sprint Cup drivers, Elliott managed to carve out a piece of stardom. And he struck early, winning in April at Texas Motor Speedway and following up the next week with the highlight of the season — and a stunner.
That came at Darlington Raceway, the battered old track in South Carolina that sometimes frustrates drivers, especially rookies. Elliott, in his first time there, paid little attention to the speedway's reputation, boldly racing from sixth place over the final two laps to win, a victory that shocked veteran observers all along pit road.
Elliott scored his third win in mid-July at Chicagoland Speedway, taking the points lead for good in the process.
There were no more victories over the final 15 races, perhaps the only negative in a season that stamped Elliott as a future NASCAR star.
"The biggest thing this year is just trying to compete for more wins," he said. "Early in the year last year, we were able to do that. There were points in time in the second half of the season when I felt like we could have won races, but I don't think we were nearly as consistent. I think we're capable of being there with those guys every week. I have to step up and do my job better to make that happen."
Elliott will seek title No. 2 with new crew chief Ernie Cope. Cope was promoted from within at JR Motorsports after Greg Ives, who guided Elliott to last year's title, moved to Hendrick Motorsports to take one of racing's high-profile jobs — Sprint Cup crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"Ernie and I get along well, and that's the most important thing," Elliott said. "I think our mind-sets are very similar. He's a racer, and I like that about him. We'll try to learn from each other and better our performance from last year."
Elliott's early success, family lineage and connections to Earnhardt (one of the owners of JR Motorsports) and Sprint Cup team owner Rick Hendrick have many fans clamoring for Elliott's rapid promotion to NASCAR's top series.
That will come sooner now that Jeff Gordon has announced this will be his final full-time year in the No. 24 car.
The Hendrick organization announced on Jan. 29 that Elliott will take over Gordon's ride fulltime in 2016 and hopes to run Elliott in five Cup races (dates not yet selected) this year.
Elliott says he appreciates the enthusiasm of fans but is more than comfortable in his current situation.
"Honestly, a lot of it is not up to me," Elliott said. "The thing is to make the most of whatever position you're in at any given point. Hopefully, the rest will figure itself out.
"I'm definitely not in a hurry. I'll just try to do my job and see where it all unfolds."
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PHOTOS: Behind the wheel with Chase Elliott