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JOLIET, Ill. – If it hadn’t been for Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott might have been hoisting his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series trophy into the air — and getting covered in green slime — following Sunday’s NASCAR Playoffs opener at Chicagoland Speedway.
But for the No. 24 driver, a runner-up finish, one that may have dampened his mood last year during his rookie season, does more than just earn race points.
Elliott called it a “huge step in the right direction.”
“Days like this are the days we’re going to have to have,” he said. “There’s no way around that. So, I thought we had a solid day overall … and frankly it’s a lot better than we’ve been doing and we’ve got to have days like this moving forward.”
Having led 42 laps in Sunday’s 400-miler was a feat in itself for the No. 24 driver, who hasn’t paced the field for more than 20 laps since Phoenix back in March. In fact, his 42-lap total today was more than his entire laps-led total since then.
Call it a much-needed shot in the arm.
“To me, I think we all needed it; we all needed the realization that if we do have the car driving right, if we do have the right pit stops on pit road, restarts go good, we can run with those guys,” Elliott said. “We didn’t have anything for (race winner) Martin (Truex Jr.) today by any means but I thought we made the most with what we had. I thought we were better than about everybody else.
“To me, I think that’s something to be proud of.”
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Crew chief Alan Gustafson echoed that sentiment later in the garage.
“Any time you can lead laps and compete with the best of the best, it’s a big deal,” Gustafson said. “So, I think it’s good for his confidence. I have confidence in the team and what we can accomplish. … I think it’s good for him. Any time you perform like that, you know you can do it.
Winning Stage 2 — which earned Elliott a valuable playoff point and 10 race points — certainly didn’t hurt either.
“Those stage points we gained today – those were really significant, that was a goal of ours,” Gustafson said. “Starting the race, we wanted to get as many stage points as we could and that would help us close the gap on those guys who had a pretty big bonus point advantage. …
“The one stage point isn’t going to hurt – we’ll take it. I’d like to have five more — unfortunately the 78 didn’t cooperate,” he joked.
Team owner Rick Hendrick paid a visit to the No. 24 car after the race to congratulate his young driver’s strong performance, one that comes just in time for the remaining nine-race NASCAR Playoffs stretch.
“If you’re going to get hot or fix things or take a step in the right direction, now is certainly the time to do it,” Elliott said. “So, I’m glad we had the run we did today. Like I said, we needed that – we all needed that and we haven’t been running to our potential each week. It’s just always nice to show up and know that if things are driving right, if pit stops are good, then you can run with them.
“And I think we just kind of proved to ourselves and everybody else that we can.”