Chase Ellliott: ‘You can’t do dumb stuff and win these races’

Despite earning his career-best finish today in the Irish Hills, Chase Elliott was unsurprisingly dejected at coming up short once again.

After leading the most laps in Long Pond, Pennsylvania wasn’t enough to score the victory, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet came up short once again after leading 35 of the 200 laps and finished second in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

As his track record indicated, he wasn’t too happy about coming up short again and put the blame on his restarts.

“I just did something dumb. You can’t do dumb stuff and win these races. Completely my fault. The guys gave me a great car today. This whole NAPA group has been working so hard these past few weeks and that one was on me. Like I said, you can’t do dumb stuff and win these things and I did today.”

His runner-up finish comes just six days after he led 51 of 160 laps in the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway where he came home fourth.

Despite coming up short twice in the last six days, Elliott is having a rookie season not seen in many years. As of today’s race, he’s amassed two poles, six top fives, 11 top 10s, led 118 laps, finished on the lead lap in 12 races, was running at the finish in all but one race – Daytona 500 – and currently sits sixth in points.

In comparison, Jimmie Johnson after 15 races had three poles, two wins, four top fives, 10 top 10s, led 552 laps, finished on the lead lap in 11 races, was running at the finish in all but one race and was second in points.

So while Elliott hasn’t won and has one less pole than Johnson, although both took the pole for the Daytona 500, his average finish of 11.3 is equal to Johnson’s 11.3 after 15 races and Elliott has finished in the top-five and top-10 more often than Johnson after 15 races.

One common denominator to the success of both rookie season’s was Jeff Gordon. A number of the cars Johnson used in 2002 were cars Gordon used in his championship 2001 season. In Elliott’s case, he inherited the crew and team that helped Gordon to a third-place points finish in his final season last year.

He leaves Michigan still the favorite to win rookie of the year honors. While Ryan Blaney has been running at the finish the same amount as Elliott, he’s had only one top five, six top 10s, finished on the lead lap in 10 races and has yet to lead a single lap.

When the Sprint Cup Series heads to Sonoma in two weeks, Elliott will be a sentimental favorite racing for a team that’s made Sonoma a playground.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Tucker White
Tucker White
I've followed NASCAR for well over 20 years of my life, both as a fan and now as a member of the media. As of 2024, I'm on my ninth season as a traveling NASCAR beat writer. For all its flaws and dumb moments, NASCAR at its best produces some of the best action you'll ever see in the sport of auto racing. Case in point: Kyle Larson's threading the needle pass at Darlington Raceway on May 9, 2021. On used-up tires, racing on a worn surface and an aero package that put his car on the razor's edge of control, Larson demonstrated why he's a generational talent. Those are the stories I want to capture and break down. In addition to NASCAR, I also follow IndyCar and Formula 1. As a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, I'm a diehard Tennessee Volunteers fan (especially in regards to Tennessee football). If covering NASCAR doesn't kill me, down the road, watching Tennessee football will. I'm also a diehard fan of the Atlanta Braves, and I lived long enough to see them win a World Series for the first time since 1995 (when I was just a year old). I've also sworn my fan allegiance to the Nashville Predators, though that's not paid out as much as the Braves. Furthermore, as a massive sports dork, I follow the NFL on a weekly basis. Though it's more out of an obligation than genuine passion (for sports dorks, following the NFL is basically an unwritten rule). Outside of sports, I'm a major cinema buff and a weeb. My favorite film is "Blazing Saddles" and my favorite anime is "Black Lagoon."

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