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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 09: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Autocare Center Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 09: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Autocare Center Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Michael McDowell seized victory at the Daytona 500, with Chase Elliott finishing in 2nd place. The reigning Cup Series champion was one of the many who managed to escape the late multi-car crash, unscathed. Although it wasn’t quite a win, he is still glad to record a personal best finish at the Daytona International Speedway.
Speaking after the race, he said, “I don’t think it was very close. I kinda got next to him and that’s when the lights come on, so I knew it was over. Felt like we had a fast car, we’re as good as I thought we were on Thursday. So I felt like we did a really good job of executing today.”
“Staying out of trouble, that’s not something I’ve done a very good job here. So glad we could at least finish this one… Kind of tried at certain points in time, but just didn’t work out. Close, we finished one, so I’m pretty pleased with that.”
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Elliott acknowledged that he did a good job of staying out of trouble. This is why he is glad that he was able to finish the race. Now, he and the team have some sort of foundation to build on for the coming races at the Daytona International Speedway.
Chase Elliott gives his thoughts on the race
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According to Elliott, the top of the track was probably the place to be. It was so fast that, no matter who picked the bottom lane, the top lane drivers were always faster. Now, that he has wrapped up the race, he is pretty pleased with his performance.
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MARTINSVILLE, VA – MARCH 27: Chase Elliott, driver of the #25 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet, speaks to the media during a press conference after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Now, Chase Elliott will be looking ahead to the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 next weekend. It will be the third race in Florida in consecutive weekends. However, the following week sees the drivers head to the Homestead-Miami Speedway. With the Daytona 500 done and dusted, the 2021 NASCAR Cup season has kicked off in earnest.
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Now, the Hendrick Motorsports driver will be keen to try and defend his Cup Series title. Truthfully speaking, nobody has been able to win consecutive titles since Jimmie Johnson. So the #9 driver will be keen to succeed him in that respect.
