MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Chase Elliott enters Sunday’s playoff elimination race at Martinsville Speedway focused on a win to advance to the Championship 4, and he is confident he can accomplish the feat.
“I think the last two weeks have been probably as good as we’ve been in this car, particularly since the end of 2022, for sure,” he said Saturday.
Elliott qualified second for Sunday’s race (2 p.m. ET on NBC). It is his best starting spot since winning the pole at New Hampshire in late June.
Elliott enters the event 43 points below the cutline. Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick have secured spots in the Championship 4 with victories in this round.
That leaves six drivers vying for the final two spots in next week’s title race. Christopher Bell and William Byron hold those spots, but Byron, who is seven points above the cutline, said he feels he needs to win because of the competition behind him.
Those below the cutline are Kyle Larson (-7 points), Denny Hamlin (-18), Ryan Blaney (-38) and Elliott.
Elliott is the only remaining playoff driver who does not have multiple wins this season. His only victory came at Texas in April.
“Certainly we need to win more races and I think that’s something that we know,” crew chief Alan Gustafson said this week. “There’s probably opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of or risks that we didn’t take. … At the end of the day, what really matters is what happens this week and next.”
While the past two races at Las Vegas and Homestead don’t correlate to Martinsville’s tight corners and short track, Elliott is encouraged by how his team has performed.
He ran well at Las Vegas until his car was damaged in an incident with Reddick. Elliott finished fifth last week at Homestead, just his second top five there since 2018, and led 81 laps.
“I’m excited for the weekend and just excited for where we’re at,” Elliott said. “Las Vegas has been horrendous. I mean horrendous, horrendous. And so has Homestead, for really about two years plus, maybe three years on both of those places. So to go and to have the type of speed we’ve had the last couple of weeks, I think that’s great.
“I think that’s something that, while we didn’t get the results that we wanted, I think you have to enjoy that because man, there’s been some bad days over the last few years at those tracks in particular. So to stick together, continue to work and push and find a way to make the places that have been a struggle better, I think those are the signs that you want to see out of a team.”
Elliott will look to repeat what he did in 2020 when he won Round of 8 finale at Martinsville to advance to the championship race, which he won the following week.
“When I look back at that year, this win was as big as Phoenix because without it, you don’t have that shot,” Elliott said. “It was just a crazy week. You come in here and your back is against the wall. It’s not like you won Vegas, right, and you’re all eyes on Phoenix for two or three weeks. For us, we’re all eyes on Homestead. And then now, it’s all eyes on Martinsville.
“I haven’t even thought about Phoenix. It’s just about getting the job done right now. I think as you go through those situations, I really believe and trust in our process. If we’re able to go and get the job done (Sunday), then you go and start your homework (Sunday) night.
“You start preparing and getting ready, and that’s what we did. We didn’t have a choice. We were locked in on Martinsville. We were able to get the job done. And then when the checkered flag flew, we tried to enjoy the moment for a little while, but it was kind of hard to knowing that in seven days, you’re racing for a championship.”
