Since his win at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) in June, Chase Elliott has had a miserable stretch of races to say the least. While he was not running toward the front on a regular basis, aside from his 238 laps led at Dover on Sunday, July 20, Elliott began the season with 23 consecutive top 20 finishes and even held the points lead at one point.
Things quickly unraveled for the seven-time Most Popular Driver when he came away with a 26th place finish at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 10. That was followed by a 38th place result at Richmond Raceway, where he was caught up in a multi-car wreck that was not of his own doing.
Although he rebounded to finish 10th at Daytona International Speedway, Elliott and the entire Hendrick Motorsports organization struggled mightily in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, with his 17th place finish leading the way.
That is what made Sunday's third place showing so important for Elliott, as he only entered World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway with a nine-point cushion above the round of 12 cut line.
Chase Elliott's top three finish could be exactly what he needs
Elliott's main takeaway from his solid outing on Sunday was the uptick in pace in his No. 9 Chevrolet, something he has not had much of in recent weeks.
"We just had good pace," Elliott said, per NASCAR.com. "At different times, the car did a lot of good stuff throughout the day. Gave me some opportunities to be on offense and just put ourselves in a good position. So, yeah, just a much better effort than I've been having."
The pace was evident from the drop of the green flag. Despite starting 19th, Elliott worked his way up to 10th by the end of stage one and eighth in stage two, running lap times as fast as the leaders throughout the race. Prior to Sunday, Elliott's top finish at Gateway in two starts was 13th in 2024, so there was a lot to like about his effort after 300 miles. His teammates all finished outside the top 10.
Other drivers such as Shane van Gisbergen, who was tied with Gateway winner Denny Hamlin for the most regular season wins, fell below the cut line and face an uphill battle in the Bristol Night Race this Saturday.
That is not the case for Elliott, who now sits ninth in the standings, 28 points to the good. As the runner-up in two of the three most recent night races at Bristol Motor Speedway, Elliott has done everything but win a points race in "Thunder Valley". Following a step in the right direction at Gateway, he heads to one of his better tracks looking to build off the improved performance.