This season has seen some surprising names fall short of the playoffs. Take Kyle Busch, for instance. The two-time Cup champion missed the playoffs for the first time in 12 years, which is a real shocker. Chris Buescher is another notable name who didn’t make the cut, despite having one of the best average finishes of the year. Then there’s Bubba Wallace.

After a career-best season, Wallace still couldn’t break into the playoffs, marking his second consecutive year missing out. It’s definitely a tough break, and Chase Elliott, Wallace’s best friend, knows all too well how frustrating that can be. Elliott is just glad to be moving forward this year, eager to put last season’s disappointments behind him.

Elliott not long ago was in the shoes of all the notable drivers that missed out this year. The Hendrick Motorsports’ star, a consistent playoff contender, and the 2020 Cup Series Champion, was notably absent from the 2023 playoff field.

In 2023, Elliott missed a significant portion of the regular season because of injuries in a snowboarding incident and could not secure a playoff berth, despite competing in 19 races. His point total was insufficient to qualify, and that year Wallace ultimately claimed the final playoff spot. Chase Elliot was recently in the playoff media day where he reminisced about 2023.

He said, “There was unfortunate missing the playoff aspect of it. I can’t really say it feels a whole lot different. And the reason for that is, we have been fortunate enough to be part of it for a number of years. Those are things you don’t take for granted. I think the points unfolded this season is really a good reminder of that, to not take it for granted.”

According to Chase Elliott, if you take it for granted, you face the consequences. “Because there were some great drivers and teams that missed this year. It wasn’t because they necessarily had abysmal seasons just the way the cards unfolded. Yeah, you never know,” he added.

As we head into the playoffs, Elliott does emerge as a top contender for the championship alongside Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick. In the regular season, he managed one win, twelve top-10 finishes, and seven top-5s. His average finish (11.62) is similar to what it was in his championship-winning year (2020). Other than his stats, Jeff Gordon, vice chairman of HMS, is certain of Elliott’s championship chances.

Can Chase Elliott bag a second championship?

Elliott’s season has been a remarkable turnaround win-wise; he is not showing his 2020 or 2022 form, where he bagged 5 each. However, he’s been consistently strong, posting the second-best average and ranking highly in points for most of the season. He’s even led the standings several times this year, at least three!

If he can keep up this level of performance, he’s in a great position to make it to the Championship 4 for the fourth time in five years. What must give him the strongest chance is his track record in the last 10 races, out of which he has won on 7 tracks.

Along the same lines, Jeff Gordon has strong hope for Chase Elliott, as he said, “I think there’s a lot of good race tracks for them and I think a lot of people don’t realize that if you go look at owner and driver over the last few years, those guys have been there. Remember, last year he was out of it on the driver side because of injury but that team was in that top four. I think they’re a real championship-caliber team this year.” 

Although not having many wins is a concern, according to Gordon, his ability to finish races is what makes up for it. Only once this season, the #9 car did not finish the race. And since the entry of the next-gen car, his total DNFs have only been 8. Reiterating this, Gordon said, “I think right now, if I just look at who’s the most solid championship-caliber team, I think it’s them because, OK, they might not have the laps led and the number of wins but they also don’t have the DNFs. They’re always in this third-to-seventh range almost every weekend and that’s strong.”  

• Do you agree with Gordon?
• What do you think are Chase Elliott’s chances of winning the championship this year? Let us know in the comments below.