Chase Elliott Stoked After Energizing Crowd With Wild Atlanta Win

Bob Pockrass

FOX Motorsports Insider

HAMPTON, Ga. — Chase Elliott doesn’t present emotion typically, however the exhilaration he confirmed in profitable Sunday evening at Atlanta indicated that this win was a spotlight amongst his 20 NASCAR Cup Sequence victories.

Elliott wasn’t the one one excited.

Having grown up and nonetheless residing 85 miles from the monitor, Elliott stays NASCAR’s hottest driver and one in all Georgia’s favourite sons in the case of athletes.

Chase Elliott celebrates following the working of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Quaker State 400

That was most evident within the roar of the group as they cheered his triumph.

“To see them that excited after the race for me was simply loopy,” Elliott stated. “It was surreal. I do not actually know the way else to explain it. It is simply a kind of moments you want you could possibly bottle up and relive it.”

Elliott hasn’t had a lot of an opportunity to expertise victory celebrations in recent times.

The 2020 Cup champion snapped a 44-race winless streak with the win. Not solely had he not received a race this 12 months, he had not even received a stage. In his earlier 99 begins, Elliott had managed only one victory.

So whereas he had 5 prime fives and 9 prime 10s in 17 races coming into Sunday evening, Elliott’s solid-but-no-trophy season had the vibe of extra pretender than contender.

Chase Elliott celebrates after profitable the NASCAR Cup Sequence Quaker State 400

The victory Saturday evening perhaps modified all that. He received a wild race the place solely 21 drivers completed on the lead lap and 12 of the 40 vehicles had been eradicated by accidents.

The racing at Atlanta, a 1.54-mile high-banked monitor, is meant to be the identical model as Daytona and Talladega. However drivers may typically make runs even with out assist. Now after they had assist, the run was nearly unstoppable.

The runs on the finish had been livid, and the most effective on this model of racing, Brad Keselowski, was out entrance within the remaining laps. However Elliott, with the assistance of a push from Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman, received out entrance after which Keselowski had no assist as Bowman actually wasn’t going to push Keselowski previous his teammate.

“All of the playing cards fell on the fitting locations there these final couple laps,” Elliott stated. “What a loopy race. … It was wild from my seat. I am so glad we received to run that factor on the market to the top.”

Elliott most likely wouldn’t have received with out the push he may depend on from a teammate resembling Bowman.

“I did not actually have a selection there on the final lap of what I used to be going to do,” Bowman stated. “There wasn’t a chance for me to win the race, sadly. The way in which the race would shuffle the chief out each handful of laps, I simply led too early there. … I simply received the timing fallacious and did not keep management the race.”

For Bowman, having Elliott win the race was higher than the opposite drivers, as Bowman is on the bubble to make the playoffs on factors. Elliott was a winless driver however appeared to be in a cushty place so far as factors.

However the remainder of the drivers jockeying for the win — Brad Keselowski was second, adopted by Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Zane Smith — may have impacted Bowman’s hopes to make the playoffs.

“I did not take into consideration that, however you are not fallacious,” Bowman stated about Elliott’s win being good for him personally. “Clearly, it is a group of us [Hendrick drivers] out right here, so having a Hendrick automobile in victory lane is all the time a great factor.

Alex Bowman places on warmth shields previous to the working of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Quaker State 400

Clearly, it was a great factor for Elliott, who may take pleasure in profitable the wild race however as he famous, he’ll take wins any method he can get them.

“Simply to win a race is good generally,” Elliott stated. I am not going to get choosy with whether or not it is wild or boring. It was good to return out on the great of that. It may have been one in all 5 or 6 of us on the finish.

“For me, fortuitously, the runs simply actually timed up on the good time, and we had been in a position to do one thing with them.”

Elliott has had up-and-down outcomes at Atlanta, with just one top-10 end in his 4 begins since a win in July 2022. He has not run properly when he has sported a paint scheme designed by a affected person of Youngsters’s Healthcare of Atlanta as a part of a fund-raising program by his basis.

In order that simply made a particular evening further particular.

It was a particular evening within the making over the past couple of months. A nasty pit cease at Kansas ruined his likelihood in that race in early Could. Within the earlier two weeks, he completed third at Mexico Metropolis and fifth at Pocono, the place he confirmed extra pace.

Elliott doesn’t get so absorbed within the outcomes as a lot as the method and the way in which they race, no matter what occurs with the outcomes.

“Have been we related? Did we truly a shot? I imagine on this sport, if you happen to’re doing all these proper issues, that’s one thing to be pleased with,” Elliott stated. “And if you happen to’re doing them often, you’re going to get your flip. The final three or 4 weeks have been an instance of that.”

And the way will Elliott have a good time within the wee hours of Sunday morning after he happy his media obligations? He deliberate to drive himself house.

“It’s not that far,” stated Elliott, who ought to have the ability to make the journey in about two hours. “I’m going to sleep in my mattress.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports activities. He has spent many years masking motorsports, together with over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting Information, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Seashore) Information-Journal. Observe him on Twitter @bobpockrass.