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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

Chase Elliott–the man of the hour! He showed us he still has what it takes to dominate when he achieved Victory lane in the recently concluded Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Notably, this was his first Xfinity stint since 2016. He clawed his way to the top reminding all of us why he is the most popular driver on the grid.

His win was spectacular indeed, but Elliott is no rookie and knows every race, every track every situation is different. And he even presented his doubts over Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 run. 

Elliott highlights how the Xfinity race has a different “vibe”

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Elliott’s race to the pole was nothing short of perfect. However, despite his victory, one could sense that the most popular driver still had doubts about his run in the Coca-Cola 600. And this is understandable. After all, his season at the cup isn’t going the best. He just finished a 42-race winless streak at Texas. So some skepticism is understandable. 

In the post-race interview with the media, Chase Elliot was asked what was it like to race from his perspective. Evidently back in an Xfinity car after a long time, the racer reportedly had to fight off some uncertainties. “I was kind of winging it a little bit just having not been in a car in so long,” said the racer.

Later, the 2020 Cup Series racer also pointed out how NASCAR’s second tourney was like a breath of fresh air compared to the Cup Series, where limitations rule. His remarks hinted at some skepticism about the upcoming Coca-Cola 600. He said, “It was just fun to you know have some different lanes and options and you could hit the wall and your day wasn’t over and you’d have to worry about you know the body cutting a tire down or bending a tow link or things like that so just a whole different vibe than then what we have now on Sunday.”

Running on fresh tires, Elliott helped off Brandon Jones and finally went ahead to win the race. After the race, he said, We were in a much better tire situation than anybody else and that is what won us the race. We ran ourselves a smart race and that put us in position.” 

In total, Chase Elliott has 19 Cup Series wins and even a championship to his name. But being the most popular driver, is that enough? Denny Hamlin has openly discussed the Cup race wins versus a championship to which Elliott too had some thoughts.

Chase Elliott shares his take on Denny Hamlin’s race wins vs. championships debate

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Race wins or championships–which has more weight, do you think? Denny Hamlin recently talked about how he prefers the former. Hamlin is an elite driver and has over 54 cup wins but championships—nil! And he said that for him it doesn’t matter because he would be someone with 60 cup wins, just 20 wins and a title. He said in a press conference at Dover Motor Speedway,I care about wins and winning every single week because in the end I absolutely would take 60-some wins and no championship over 20 and one. It’s just not even close.”

via Imago

We don’t know who directed the statement or if it was just a general statement. But Elliott was asked how he felt about Hamlin’s statement in a press conference at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. And the #9 Hendrick Motorsports driver mentioned that a driver’s opinion is formed by their age and the current stage of their career. 

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He also added, “​​I think having a lot of wins means that you’ve had a lot of good days spread out through a long period of time. So I just think that general satisfaction that you get from a race win or a day going your way – if those wins are in large quantities like that, I think ultimately that means that you’ve had a lot of good days leaving the racetrack and a lot of satisfaction.”

So what do you think about the race-win-first mentality? Do you think Elliott will perform as well as he did at the Xfinity race in the cup race?