Why it appears that Chase Elliott will win the first race on a road course with a Next-Gen vehicle
Written by Samuel Stubbs Updated on June 7, 24.
Chase Elliott was regarded as NASCAR’s road-course king from 2018 to 2021.
He was always the favorite when NASCAR traveled the winding roads of those courses, having won seven of them in four seasons.
Since the Next Gen car’s debut in 2022, Elliott has yet to win on road courses; but, a race at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday at the Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway could change that.
Elliott, who finished first in five races and qualified for the Championship Four for the third time in a row in 2022, has returned to form in 2024. Despite missing the playoffs in 2023 due to injury and suspension, the 28-year-old driver is the most reliable in the Cup Series and even made it back to the winner’s circle at Texas Motor Speedway.
Elliott has “only” finished in the top 10 in the first 15 races of the Cup Series this year, but his average finish at the championship level is 9.9, and he hasn’t finished worse than 19th.
Elliott should concentrate on accumulating playoff points as the schedule heats up this summer. Elliott is now third in the regular-season standings, 27 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.
Elliott has yet to win on a road circuit in his short Cup Series career, which includes Sonoma. However, he leads all active Cup Series drivers in average finish (12.1) at the California road track. Elliott has led 49 laps, finished in the top 10, and secured three top fives in seven Sonoma outings.
Elliott’s competitors on Sunday, including Joe Gibbs Racing, 23XI Racing, William Byron, and Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports, will undoubtedly be fierce, but all the signs point to Elliott eventually taking back the road course championship, which has changed hands several times since his last visit to victory lane.
Elliott has shown he is capable of winning in the Next Gen vehicle, but when NASCAR decides to make left or right turns on road courses, there is now more parity.
Elliott’s relative troubles have been exploited by Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr., and A.J. Allmendinger to secure victories on road courses. The garage area should tremble at a return to form for the man who was once by far the best road-course racer in NASCAR history.
Elliott has fulfilled all the expectations in what was perceived as a redemption season, and winning on a road course in the seventh-generation vehicle of NASCAR would be the icing on the cake for a season in which the longtime title contender has once again proven to be among the sport’s greatest.
