NASCAR: Progress Is The Keyword For Chase Elliott
Chase Elliot might be 28th in the NASCAR standings with only one top-ten and two finishes outside the top-35, but fans should in no way be hitting the panic button on the former Xfinity Series champion just yet.
Sure, Chase Elliot might have finished outside of the top-35 in two of the first three races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, but that doesn’t mean the young rookie hasn’t made a lot of progress in his short time at the Cup level. In fact, Elliot has shown the consistency and poise of a seasoned-veteran in the first three races of the Sprint Cup season.
While the former champion has shown great poise and consistency in the early parts of this season, they haven’t be enough to bring home consistently good finishes for his team just yet. That is something that Elliot has struggled with and needs to work on this season, as he constantly seems to get caught up in someone else’s mess or make a rookie mistake at the most inappropriate time.
The young driver’s troubles started at Daytona, where Elliot lost control of his car in the early laps of the 500 mile race and slid through the infield grass. The grass ended up destroying the front of his NAPA Chevrolet, leaving the rookie with a 37th place finish and a lot of ground to make up early in the season. Sadly for the promising rookie, his problems were only beginning.
Those problems continued at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Elliot got trapped on the high side of the track and ran right into back of Matt Kenseth’s Toyota. Despite running in the top-ten almost all afternoon, Elliot ended up finishing 38th. It wasn’t all clouds and thunderstorms however, as the young rookie gave a professional interview on the telecast after the incident where he took blame for what happened.
"I feel like we made a lot of gains this weekend. Just a terrible job on my behalf. That is pitiful. We have run three races and finished one. Just a bad job on my end. I ought to know better to miss a wreck like that."
Despite Elliot not being able to finish strong in two out of the three races of the 2016 season, there is still a lot that Chase Elliot fans should be proud of. Not only was Elliot able to stay competitive at Daytona, Atlanta, and Vegas, but he was able to present himself in a mature manner at the tracks where things didn’t work out in his favor.
Another thing that showed Elliot’s growth as a driver, was when he took home eighth place at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Elliot had been flirting with the top-ten all day at Atlanta and was finally able to move up the pack a bit before the checkered flag waved.
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With all that being said, it is way too early to hit the panic button on Elliot. He has led laps, had strong finishes and has been able to flirt with the leaders every time he is on the track. If anything, these are signs of not only a promising rookie, but also a future star that will eventually take the sport by storm. He just has to learn how to close out races.