Chase Elliott: “I Do Walk in My Shoes. And There Are Reasons and Ways I Look at Things or Go About Things”; Talks About Realist Approach After Unfortunate Playoff Story

There’s a reason why Chase Elliott has won the NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver award five times in his career. It is not just his talent behind the wheel but also his calm and composed approach off the track. However, that hasn’t helped him this season, especially when he missed qualifying for the playoffs.

In his eighth full-time year of the Cup Series, it is the first time that Elliott has failed to qualify for the Round of 16. While it was a big blow this season for Hendrick Motorsports, the #9 car driver explained his thought process recently.

Chase Elliott reveals his approach as 2023 continues to be a forgettable season

With over 200 races to his name, Chase Elliott has certainly come a long way in his career. At a young age, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has achieved a lot of fame. Having won the 2020 Cup Series title, Elliott has been more often than not considered a title favorite.

Unfortunately, he missed out on six races due to a snowboarding injury and one through suspension this season. While that played a massive role in his failure to qualify for the playoffs, he still remains in contention to help the #9 team win the owner’s championship title.

Elliott is currently tied with Christopher Bell’s #20 in the owner’s standings as NASCAR heads to the race at Charlotte Roval. This is not to discount that the Georgia-born driver has been on the receiving end of harsh criticism for missing out on the playoffs. Yet, his thought process remains clear as day.

In an interview with The Athletic journalist Jeff Gluck, Elliott spoke about how he enjoys being a realist. He said, “I try to view things for what they are. And not necessarily in all categories — because who are we to judge something we’re not exactly aware of?

“If you’re not standing in somebody else’s shoes, I’m not so sure we really understand exactly what that person sees or the way they are or why they think the way they think or the decisions they choose.” Elliott further explained how he relies heavily on his instincts and counts on a few select people with his life and racing decisions.

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He said, “But I can speak for myself, because I do walk in my shoes. And there are reasons and ways I look at things or go about things — for right or wrong. So yeah, most of it definitely comes from within, but there are a select few people I have a lot of respect for. People who don’t typically have a whole lot to say, it comes back to the “less is more” thing.

“When you do hear something from someone you admire to a tall degree and have a lot of respect for and they don’t say much a whole lot — when they do speak, I find that extremely valuable. And that can go a long way with me, too.” The 27-year-old then described how he deals with the stress that comes with the Cup Series competition.

Chase Elliott gets candid about the “toughest things” in racing

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It is no child’s play to race continuously with all the expectations and criticism coming your way. Barring the 2023 season, Elliott has never finished below the 10th position in the Cup Series, which is a stat that’s definitely going to change this campaign. However, he’s no longer fazed about having a bad day on the track as he hints at a mature approach from this side.

Speaking in the same interview, he said, “One of the toughest things about racing is when you do have a bad day, especially on the Cup side. You have to wait six days before you can get back in the car. That’s always a challenging thing. But as I’ve gotten a little older and I’ve done this a little more, you certainly learn to ride that wave a little better.”

Elliott continued as he explained how acceptance is the key in this case. He said, “You just learn to accept the day for what it is. The more you can just accept whatever it was and recognize that life goes on, the better off you are. It’s not that you don’t care; I just think as you get older, your perception changes a little bit on just general views of life.”

While truer words have never been spoken, it is not easy for every individual to handle it as well as Elliott does. After all, that’s what makes him such an adorable character. Having said that, it will be interesting to see how he goes about his business from here on.

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