Chase Elliott holds nothing back on where No. 9 team stands after NASCAR Atlanta win

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 team have arguably been the most consistent team in the NASCAR Cup Series this season. But entering this past Saturday’s race at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, Elliott was still looking for his first win of the 2025 campaign.

Elliott got his checkered flag at his home track, snapping a 44-race winless streak dating back to last April’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. With the win, Elliott is just 37 points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron for the points lead. Suddenly, there are fewer questions about Elliott’s ability to truly compete for a Cup Championship this season. Elliott told FOX Sports analyst Kevin Harvick on Monday he feels good about where the team is at. That being said, there’s more they can accomplish.

“I’m really proud of where we’re at, truthfully,” Elliott said. “You always want more but I think we’re way closer than we give ourselves credit for some days internally. Man, you’re fighting for such small pieces of real estate here and there. I think one really cool part of our team is just the piece of the puzzle of being solid at a lot of different racetracks can sometimes be even a bigger hurdle than being a good at a certain style in my experience. With that being said, that’s encouraging to me because I feel like we have the ability to be good everywhere. If we’re that solid at a lot of different types of racetracks, I think we can get to where we can be exceptional on occasions when we really hit it perfect.

“I guess overall, the short answer is I think we’re in a good spot — I truly believe that. … It’s all right there for the taking, in my opinion. And we just got to keep our heads down and keep doing the things we’ve been doing because I think they’re the right things. I think the feel I’m looking for and the things I’m asking for in the car — I think I’m asking the right things, and we just got to keep trying to squeeze a little bit more and put together solid weekends from start to finish.”

Chase Elliott riding high after snapping winless streak with victory in Atlanta

It meant a lot for Elliott to win at his home track, and the way he did it was special. The 2020 Cup champion made the race-winning pass on the final lap, blasting by Brad Keselowski. The RFK Racing driver tried to get Alex Bowman to give him a push. Bowman helped out his teammate by diving to the bottom. From there, nothing stood in the way between Elliott and the 20th Cup victory of his career.

The usually reserved Elliott was filled with emotion after this one. He climbed into the stands to celebrate with his fellow Georgians. The fans responded by starting a “Let’s Go Chase” chant.

“Unbelievable. Unbelievable. How about that? Are you kidding me?” Chase Elliott told TNT‘s Marty Snider. “I’ve never in my life. This is unbelievable. Thank you guys so much. What a special car. Just a huge thanks to NAPA Auto Parts and everything they do for me and to benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. … It was a lot of fun. This right here is something I will never forget, so thank you guys so much.”