Chase Elliott hopes to carry momentum into long remainder of NASCAR season

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, doesn’t play a guitar but rest assured, it's perfectly alright to have one custom-built for his trophy case. Elliott won the rain-delayed Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway last weekend, marking his 15th career victory in NASCAR’s premier series.

When asked what came to mind after a long evening of rainstorms and lightning, Elliott said, “Just so proud of our team. We kind of had a setback there about halfway and we were able to get our NAPA Chevy dialed back in and get back in the mix.”

The win at the 1.33-mile Tennessee concrete oval is the ninth trip to victory lane for Chevrolet this season in 17 Cup Series starts. Elliott continues to hold the top spot in Cup Series points for the 13th consecutive week with a 30-point lead (586-556) over fellow Chevrolet driver Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing.

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This weekend's NASCAR TV schedule

Friday

5:30 p.m. — Xfinity Series: Qualifying at Road America (USA Network)

Saturday

11:30 a.m. — Cup Series: Qualifying at Road America (NBC Sports App)

Noon — Cup Series: Qualifying at Road America (USA Network)

2:30 p.m. — Xfinity Series: Henry 180 at Road America (USA Network)

Sunday

3 p.m. — Cup Series: Kwik Trip 250 at Road America (USA Network)

Elliott’s second win of the season is certainly a morale booster for his team and a way to build a foundation for his second-career Cup Series championship. His first title came in 2019 while driving in his fourth full-time season for team owner Rick Hendrick and his Concord, North Carolina-based racing operation.

“Our team I feel like (does) a great job when everybody is pulling in the same direction and is executing and doing their jobs to the best of their ability,” Elliott said. “I feel like we're as good as anybody, and tonight (at Nashville) I felt like they really showcased their talents, not just on pit road with their pit stops being really solid but (crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) and (team engineer) Tom Gray making really good adjustments and just staying on top of everything, so it was a good team win.”

Elliott left Music City with Road America at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, in mind. He's favored to win the 62-lap, 250-mile race on the 4.048-mile road course this weekend. He is also the defending race champion, having won the inaugural Cup race there in 2021.

One small problem suffered on the 14-turn road course and the point lead he currently enjoys could be erased. Also, there are 19 races remaining on the 2022 Cup Series schedule with 10 of those to be completed when the points are reset during the Playoffs, set to begin Sept. 4. at Darlington Raceway.

“I think everybody is vulnerable when the Playoffs start, especially as the rounds progress. We have seen guys with those big cushions not make the last round. So, I don't think anything is guaranteed. You certainly want to hedge your bet in that direction as much as you can, and every win helps that, every stage wins. That's something I want to achieve.”

Elliott would love to have a number of consecutive wins come his way in the coming weeks and anything is possible. He’s also aware that the Cup Series is extremely competitive and those scenarios are rare, even though Elliott’s teammate Kyle Larson collected 10 wins in 2021 before winning his first-career Cup Series title.

“We've never really put ourselves in a position like that to where we have a big cushion and we're able to kind of cruise through (Playoff) rounds,” Elliott said. “I feel like we've always had to scratch and claw for each round, which is fine, and I'm OK with that, but it would be nice to rack up some wins and hedge your bet more so for a potential bad day or something out of your hands.”

This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: NASCAR's Chase Elliott wins again in pursuit of 2nd Cup championship