Chase Elliott lost his first NASCAR Cup Series road course race in two seasons back in February. But has anyone really “figured him out”?
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott entered the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season as not only the reigning champion but the winner of the last four road course races going back to the race at Watkins Glen International in August 2019.
He hadn’t not won a points-paying road course race since June 2019 at Sonoma Raceway, when a mechanical issue prevented him from completing the race after he had been running inside the top three.
After his win at Watkins Glen International, which was his second in a row at the track, he went on to win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval following a valiant comeback effort that September.
Watkins Glen International was knocked off the 2020 calendar as a result of coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions in the state of New York.
But Elliott won at the replacement track, the Daytona International Speedway road course, before winning in comeback fashion at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval yet again.
So by age 24, he already had more road course wins than any other active Cup Series driver with five. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. both have four, and Elliott’s four-race winning streak ranked behind only the six-race winning streak of Jeff Gordon, the all-time winningest road course driver (nine wins).
With seven road course races on the 36-race 2021 schedule, the now 25-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia native had — and still has — a legitimate chance to tie or even break Gordon’s all-time record.
The first road course race of the season was contested back in February at the Daytona International Speedway road course, which was again serving as the replacement for a track which was wiped off the calendar as a result of pandemic-related restrictions (Auto Club Speedway in California).
He dominated that race and appeared to be well on his way to his sixth career road course victory and fifth in a row, bringing him closer to Gordon’s two records.
But it was ultimately Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell who prevailed to become the first driver to earn his first victory at a road course since Elliott won at Watkins Glen International in August 2018. Elliott, who was involved in multiple late incidents, was only able to finish in 21st place.
Now after three months, the Cup Series is set for the second of seven road course races on this year’s schedule, with that being the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas this Sunday, May 23.
So has anybody finally figured Elliott out?
In short, no, although, of course, he, like anybody, is beatable at any given track.
We all remember how that race played out, with NASCAR throwing a controversial caution flag near the end of the race for “rain”. While there had been some rain in one area of the track, nobody actually took rain tires during the caution flag period — even the few drivers, who were being blown away by Elliott at the time, who claimed it was the right move.
While many drivers didn’t pit, many did, and Elliott was one who did. Elliott came in for new slick tires (again, not rain tires), and everything unraveled from there, as he was mired back in the pack following a bad pit stop and involved in three separate incidents, including a spinout near the end of the race after he had somehow managed to work his way back into the top five.
Bell, who had pit for new tires when Elliott did, ended up passing Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who had stayed out on old tires, for the lead with just over one lap remaining, and he went on to win the race, a win that easily could have been Elliott’s since new tires were clearly the right move.
Even on old tires, he likely would have been leading the race and well ahead of Logano, and well out of the reach of Bell by that point.
But we’ll never know, will we?
What we do know, however, is that to say that anybody has “figured him out” on the tracks with both left and right turns simply isn’t accurate. He is still the driver to beat after dominating five of those races in a row and showing no signs of slowing down — save for when he was forced to do so via a questionable yellow flag.
We always hear about Elliott vs. Martin Truex Jr. being the road course battle to watch. Sure, Truex has won three road course races since the 2017 season, but ever since Elliott got his first win, he has won just once, and that was almost two years ago now. For some perspective, Truex has as many career road course wins at the age of 40 as Elliott had during his four-race winning streak.
The one driver who deserves recognition does happen to the be the Daytona International Speedway road course winner, and that is Bell. Even before the controversial caution flag period, Bell was the only driver who was consistently able to run toward the front with Elliott.
While Elliott definitely would have had him covered had everything played out under normal circumstances, his win was no fluke, and NASCAR was fortunate to see him win that race following the questionable call — as opposed to somebody completely random.
The EchoPark Texas Grand Prix is scheduled to take place this Sunday, May 23 at Circuit of the Americas, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET.
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May 23, 2021 at 08:00PM
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NASCAR: Has anyone really ‘figured out’ Chase Elliott? - Beyond the Flag
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