Chase Elliott gears up for the last race of the regular season (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chase Elliott ended the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in fourth, narrowly missing his last chance to make it into the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs.
To start the weekend, qualifying on Friday afternoon did not work out as well for Elliott as it has in past visits to Daytona, with the No. 9 car qualifying 23rd.
However, it only took the Dawsonville, Georgia native one stage to gain notable track position, claiming a 12th place Stage 1 finish. Elliott led a total of 10 laps throughout Stage 2, but settled into seventh place by the end of the stage.
During Stage 3, Elliott drove his way up to fourth but was not able to secure the race win before the race ended in overtime. After the race, Elliott spoke about his perspective through the last restart and assisting his primary drafting partner, Kevin Harvick.
“I really liked where we were before the caution, and honestly after the restart there we had the bottom lane that we wanted,” Elliott said. “I knew the 6 (Brad Keselowski) was going to go with the 17 (Chris Buescher) and I thought the 4 (Kevin Harvick) was going to take the bottom and he did. We really had all the help we could ask for behind I just couldn’t stay locked onto Kevin like I needed to to surge the bottom lane forward.”
Chase Elliott fighting for track position (Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
In regards to the playoffs, this is the first time in the 27-year-old’s career that he has not made the NASCAR Cup Series driver playoffs. His first two seasons in the Cup Series, Elliott was able to make his way in on points and has won his way into the Playoffs in the seasons since. However, the No. 9 car did get into the Owner’s Playoffs. Elliott spoke about missing the Driver’s Playoffs, and the challenges he and his team have faced this season.
“It’s a bummer for sure,” Elliott said. “I hate the season’s worked out like it has, but the good news is the car got in on points so that’s a big deal. Credit to Alan (Gustafson) and everybody for continuing to work and scratch and claw while I was out to keep our team alive and to give ourselves a chance, that’s a big deal probably much bigger than a lot of people realize.”
“So, looking forward to these next 10 (races) and try to make a little noise on that side of things, and just try to get ready and prepare for next year, but I appreciate everybody’s support through this season.
”It hasn’t been what I would want by any means, but certainly going to be some lessons taken from it and I think we’ll be better for it on the other end.”
Throughout a season full of obstacles and learning, the No. 9 team has been nothing if not determined to continue working to be their best and learn from what they have encountered in 2023.
