Kyle Larson has been in the spotlight pretty much the entire month. Him doing the double; he missing out on a crown jewel race, him not getting a waiver and rumors of him essentially starting a tiff with NASCAR. And now him getting a waiver, which isn’t sitting well with many people. But while all the news is surrounding him, a recent stat has turned the tables and how. And according to it, he faces an unexpected challenge from within his team–from none other than Chase Elliott.

Elliott, who wasn’t in his best form since the introduction of Next-Gen cars, seems to have got the hang of it. Recent statistics reveal his resurgence, and Larson may need to brace himself for a challenge in his pursuit of the championship. Also in this cats’ race, we can see another overseas contender, who may just pose a challenge to the entire race line-up!

NASCAR’s golden boy vs NASCAR’s most popular driver

While Kyle Larson can be the golden boy of NASCAR Chase Elliott always gives him a tough competition. After all, he is NASCAR’s most popular driver! But this popular driver has had a fair share of poor runs in the next-gen era. Moreover, his 2023 season was turbulent, and he had to skip out of six races due to an injury. And to add more to his misery, he even had to serve a suspension. Not only did he fail to win any races, but he also didn’t make it to the playoffs, which was a new experience for him. 

We first saw the #9 HMS driver’s resurgence to the top when he snapped his winless streak at Texas in 2024. And now the stats reveal that he indeed has been doing his best despite his lack of podiums. He currently has the best average finish of the season, and not amongst just his team members but among all cup drivers! He has an average finish of 9.88. Not only is this the best of all drivers in 2024, but it is also the best average finish Chase Elliott has EVER had through 15 races in his Cup Series career.

His average finish is better than Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Alex Bowman, two of whom have won multiple races. Kyle Larson has won two races and has an average of 12.43. William Byron has three wins and an average of 12.00. And Bowman has an average of 13.47. He also has five top-five finishes and seven top-seven finishes. Despite leading only 133 laps, Elliott has managed an impressive run of results that defy his lack of outright speed. For comparison, his teammate Kyle Larson has led 656 laps, and Denny Hamlin has led 607 laps. 

However, while these results are a confidence booster for Elliott, he still should gear up for the next race in Sonoma– a road race course.

Chase Elliott might face a challenge from an overseas racing star!

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This season we have one thing in contrast, drivers winning multiple podiums. We have leader Denny Hamlin with three wins sitting at 534 points. Then we have Kyle Larson at 513 points and a total of two victories. But Elliott although not too far from the leader at 507 points just has one win. And he just wants to change that.

In a recent interview after Gateway, he shared his expectations for the upcoming weekend in Sonoma. He said to Frontstretch, “Yeah man, I would like to think we could go out there [Sonoma Raceway] and have a shot to win. Basically, it a new track for all of us, except for whoever the three drivers were that got the test.” He also added that the race course has had a repave so it’s great that they get to practice on it on Friday. 

It’s crucial to note that his endeavor won’t be easy. He has not once won on a road course since 2021 at Road America. And this time he would be doing it with the next-gen cars. And this time we have Cam Waters, a Supercars driver joining the race. He is driving for RFK Racing and if there is one thing we know–Supercar drivers ace in race courses. That’s their forte and we saw how Shane van Gisbergen a champion driver made history at the Chicago Street race.

On his debut, he became the first driver in 60 years to win a NASCAR Cup Series race in 2023. And given Cam Waters has over 250 starts as a Supercars driver, winning eleven races and ending the year as the championship runner-up twice. Who says he cannot do what his fellow supercars champion did? He said, “This opportunity for me is a dream come true, and one that I do not take lightly given the global audience of NASCAR and the Cup Series.” 

So for Chase Elliott, it will be quite the chase! What do you think? Let us know in the comments, who you are cheering for in the upcoming race.