Chase Elliott eager to put May in rearview, eyes first win this summer
DOVER, Del. – Chase Elliott fell behind in May.
--There was the crash with 23 laps left at Talladega when AJ Allmendinger tapped his already-unsteady car into a massive wreck. Thirtieth place.
--There was the heartening early run at Kansas that ended nine laps down after he and Michael McDowell wrecked on pit road. Twenty-ninth place.
--There was the pinion from Jeffrey Earnhardt’s car that torpedoed him after just 19 laps at Charlotte last week, obliterating his engine and setting up his No. 24 Chevrolet to be hammered from behind by Brad Keselowski. Thirty-eighth-place.
The second-year replacement to four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports is therefore extremely pleased to use June as a demarcation point. But he hasn’t indulged, he said Friday at Dover International Speedway, in any of his typical self-criticism as two other drivers notched their first wins at the sport’s top level during his month of dismay.
Hype and expectation are powerful and often counterproductive forces and Elliott towed both to the Cup level. But he is supposed to have won by now.
The 21-year-old son of 1988 series champion Bill Elliott advanced to Cup as a former Xfinity Series champion with the hopes and marketing dreams of the series. He certainly did have and still does exhibit elite talent, equipment and opportunity to fulfill the promise. Elliott has lamented his shortcomings to excess when he’s considered himself at fault for wins eluding him, including twice at Michigan last year.
“I take a lot of pride in what I do and some of the stupid mistakes last year were on me and just 100 percent my fault,” he said. “I feel like some of the misfortune we have had (last) month has been out of my hands in some ways. So, I look at it by circumstance. I look at the different circumstances and how they differ. There is no secret, if I make a mistake I’m going to be mad at myself and that is just a fact and that is the way I am.”
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But Elliott also has chosen not to lament the fact that two other former Xfinity champions claimed their first Cup wins last month. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won at Talladega, and Austin Dillon at Charlotte.
“Sure, you always want to win and you always want to beat the next guy, but at the same time Ricky did a great job at Talladega, had a strong car, did a great job missing all the wrecks and putting himself in good position,” Elliott said. “He has put in due time. He is a champion in NASCAR. He has had success here, he deserves to be here and why shouldn’t he deserve to win? He did his part and got the job done. Happy for him.
“Happy for Austin, also another champion that has put in his time and had an opportunity to win and did a great job, executed a great race. I hope that people don’t say ‘Ah, it was a fuel mileage race, his first win.’ I just hate hearing that because the guy has been around, he has run well at times, he has had other opportunities to win, so I’m happy for him, too.”
Fuel mileage foiled Elliott’s bid for a career-defining first victory in the Daytona 500 in February. Fading on the final lap to a 14th-place finish, Elliott lost a chance to become the first since his father in 1985 to win a 500 pole, a qualifying event and the race in the same year.
Elliott remains a viable candidate to become the third driver to win his first Cup race this season. His three top-5s and six top-10s place him seventh in points entering the 13th race and midpoint of the regular season. He hasn’t nabbed that expected first win yet, but he seems happy right now just to reach June.
“I hope we can do it at some point,” he said. “That would be nice, but sure, I want to beat them [Stenhouse and Dillon]. ... we will have our opportunity as well.”
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PHOTOS: BEHIND THE WHEEL WITH CHASE ELLIOTT