Chase Elliott makes feelings clear on first race of NASCAR Playoffs

With two races remaining, Chase Elliott’s ambitions of competing in the NASCAR Cup Series are still alive thanks to a strong showing on Sunday in Atlanta that put him away from the cutline.

After securing a top-10 finish on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott expressed his satisfaction with his performance and increased his chances of making it to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12. On Sunday, the 16-man playoffs got underway in earnest when Joey Logano, driving the No. 22 Ford, won the Quaker State 400 in a thrilling overtime conclusion. In second place came Daniel Suarez, followed by Ryan Blaney in third. Elliott increased his lead over the bottom four to 24 points on Sunday by finishing ninth after beginning the race nine points ahead of the cutline.

Elliott is well-positioned to extend his playoff campaign with two races left at Watkins Glen and Bristol before the field is reduced to 12. The 28-year-old star of Hendrick Motorsports was pleased with his performance in the race on Sunday, despite some chaotic situations around him. He finished with a respectable haul of points.

“We performed our job today,” he said to FOX Sports. “We had a great day overall, avoided most of the mess, picked up a few stage points, and had a strong finish, so I don’t have anything to be upset about,” the player said. “I can’t speak for the next two weeks.”

However, Denny Hamlin, Harrison Burton, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, and Chase Briscoe—all five of whom are in the running for the playoffs—did not have a good day. After winning the final race of the regular season, Briscoe sneaked into the playoffs, but he was 20 points out of safety and had a mountain to climb over the next two weeks.

On lap 56, his No. 14 Ford collided with Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet, ending his race. It was a huge hit, one of my biggest songs in a very long time, according to Briscoe. I’m relieved that I’m okay; now we just need to go win. We simply need to go to Watkins Glen and Bristol and attempt to do the same because that’s what we had to do at Darlington, and I know we can do it again.