Despite having yet to capture a checkered flag at Sonoma Raceway, Chase Elliott seems right at home at the famed road course.
And for those who like to venture into the betting side of NASCAR, Elliott could be a solid choice.
In seven career races at the hilly 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course in northern California, the Dawsonville-native already has five top-10 finishes and three top-five finishes. He has led 49 laps over his last four starts since 2019.
He will see if he can break into the winner’s column at Sonoma on Sunday when they return for the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
But it’s the stats on NASCAR.com from 2022-24 that show Elliott has been one of the more consistent drivers at Sonoma in recent years. Over the past three seasons, he is in the top three in eight statistical categories at the track.
His driver rating of 102.6 is third-best and he has led the third-most laps (33) in that span. His average running position of 6.5 is also third among current drivers. He is third in fastest laps (18) and third in fastest restarts at 88.822 mph. His average green flag speed of 88.475 is also in the top three.
Elliott also is third in laps in the top 15 over the past three seasons with 186, which is behind only Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell, who are the only two with higher average finishes of 3.0 (Buescher) and 5.0 (McDowell) than Elliott. However, in speed by segment, Elliott's 0.692 rating leads the entire field.
His best finish is a 2nd place in 2021 behind Kyle Larson. Only twice -- 2016 and 2019 -- has he failed to finish inside the top 8. Elliott finished 5th in 2023.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2024/6/1246078/georgia-native-elliott-feels-right-at-home-at-sonoma-the-stats-say-so