LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Chase Elliott prefers to view a very challenging season as opportunity, not pressure.
The Dawsonville, Georgia native, who won a career-high five races last year, sits 27th in the points standings as NASCAR returns from the lone break in its 38-race season. Elliott has started only nine of 16 races. A leg broken while snowboarding cost him six starts, a suspension another.
Elliott sits 278 points behind leader Martin Truex, Jr. with time running out to qualify for the playoffs.
“We’re in a tough spot, but I think it’s a good opportunity to go and have some fun and embrace the challenge,” Elliott said. "And that’s really kind of where my head’s at.”
All of NASCAR — Elliott especially — should be rested up for the stretch run starting Sunday night with the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
The 27-year-old Elliott should be a bit more rested than others after serving that suspension at St. Louis for wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte. He finished fifth at Sonoma going into the break.
Elliott also survived a nearly seven-hour marathon to win at this track a year ago. He and the rest of his Hendricks Motorsports' teammates on the No. 9 Chevrolet started poorly and used the weather delay to adjust well enough to win.
“A lot’s changed in the course of the year,” Elliott said.
One win would fix a lot, and four of the 10 tracks left in the regular season are places Elliott has won five of his 18 career Cup wins. Competition is tight with only 32 points separating the top seven drivers.
Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is curious to see how Elliott responds to the challenge down the stretch. Earnhardt said he's confident in Elliott's approach and personality to help now.
“When he goes home and he disconnects from the sport, I think he does a really good job of putting himself in places where he can let go and where he can get away from that overbearing pressure,” Earnhardt said.
PICKING UP FROM SONOMA
His second victory this year and taking the points lead made the break very enjoyable for Truex.
“I'm still winning,” Truex said with a smile.
Truex has five top fives and eight top 10s this year, yet he can't relax with only a 13-point lead over William Byron. Truex remembers only too well going winless last year, not easy for the 2017 Cup champ.
Being in the second season with the Next Gen car has made it easier for Joe Gibbs Racing with Truex's No. 19 Toyota. Truex said it feels like they have a bit more margin for error combined with producing a faster car more consistently. That helps both the team's confidence and decision-making.
"Fast race cars make everything a lot easier, and it’s always been that way and it'll always be that way,” said Truex.
CHECK THE CHANNEL
NBC Sports begins its portion of the NASCAR television package at Nashville through the end of the season. Sunday night's race is among 10 Cup Series races on NBC itself, including the final six races of the playoffs capped by the championship at Phoenix on Nov. 5.
Earnhardt called Nashville an incredible market to kick off NBC's coverage this season with the track producing some great racing. The Next Gen car fits this 1.33-mile track that is the longest concrete-only oval on the NASCAR series.
“This car races really well at these type of racetracks, the bigger mile, mile-and-a-half racetracks. This race will be an entertaining race for sure. We have just a lot going on," Earnhardt said of all the story lines.
MATURING TRACK
Defending Cup champ Joey Logano enjoys racing at the Nashville Superspeedway much more than during the track's early years. He won a race here in 2009 and recalled how drivers were limited to running one, sometimes two lanes making the racing boring.
“I guess that's why people stopped coming, and it went out of business,” Logano said. “But now, like the track's three to four lanes wide, and the racing has gotten a lot better.”
The last race was held here in 2011. Drivers kept coming, making the track a popular testing spot. Dover Motorsports moved one of its Cup races to Nashville and brought NASCAR back in 2021 with the first Cup race in the area in 37 years. Speedway Motorsports bought Dover in November 2021.
ODDS AND ENDS
Truex is tied with Kyle Larson, who won the inaugural Cup race at this track in 2021, as the favorite to string together back-to-back wins at 5/1, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. William Byron and Denny Hamlin are right behind them at 7/1.
Larson is the 5/1 favorite to win the Cup Series title for a third straight overall even with the break.
NASCAR Cup Series
Nashville Superspeedway – Lebanon, TN
Ally 400 – June 25, 2023
Sunday's Starting Line Up
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 1 Ross Chastain Worldwide Express Chevrolet 29.797 160.687
2. 45 Tyler Reddick The Big 615/MoneyLion Toyota 30.005 159.573
3. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 30.008 159.557
4. 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 30.016 159.515
5. 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 30.038 159.398
6. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 30.039 159.393
7. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 30.051 159.329
8. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 30.315 157.942
9. 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald’s Toyota 37.269 128.471
10. 99 Daniel Suarez Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
11. 8 Kyle Busch Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet 29.943 159.904
12. 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 29.945 159.893
13. 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Pennzoil Ford 29.965 159.786
14. 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 29.993 159.637
15. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 29.995 159.627
16. 54 Ty Gibbs # Interstate Batteries Toyota 30.020 159.494
17. 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Peach Ford 30.027 159.456
18. 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 30.030 159.441
19. 16 A.J. Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 30.042 159.377
20. 6 Brad Keselowski Solomon Plumbing Ford 30.060 159.281
21. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 30.096 159.091
22. 20 Christopher Bell DeWalt Toyota 30.130 158.911
23. 43 Erik Jones Allegiant Chevrolet 30.148 158.817
24. 2 Austin Cindric Snap On Ford 30.156 158.774
25. 41 Ryan Preece Morton Buildings Ford 30.165 158.727
26. 3 Austin Dillon Huk Performance Fishing Chevrolet 30.182 158.638
27. 38 Todd Gilliland Serial 1 E-Bikes Ford 30.257 158.244
28. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/Ball Park Buns Chevrolet 30.275 158.150
29. 51 J.J. Yeley(i) Patriot Mobile Ford 30.397 157.516
30. 42 Noah Gragson # Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet 30.480 157.087
31. 21 Harrison Burton DEX Imaging Ford 30.512 156.922
32. 15 Brennan Poole(i) MACC Door Systems Ford 30.544 156.757
33. 34 Michael McDowell Love’s/Fleetguard Ford 30.695 155.986
34. 77 Ty Dillon Raze Tea Chevrolet 30.728 155.819
35. 78 Josh Bilicki(i) Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 31.390 152.533
36. 7 Corey LaJoie Garner Trucking Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
WDUN will carry live PRN Radio coverage of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 from Nashville Superspeedway beginning at 6 pm on 102.9 FM, AM 550, and streaming live on AccessWDUN.
