More Than Anyone Else, Chase Elliott Realizes How Playoff Points Can Make or Break the Postseason

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott is currently at the top of the NASCAR Cup Series points table. Despite having just one victory in the season so far, he could gain 15 valuable playoff points as regular season champion, if he holds the spot through the next four races.

Speaking to the press at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, he admitted that winning the regular season championship would mean a lot to him. The advantage that the 15 points bring did not have to be explained to him.

In 2022, after Elliott topped the regular season points table, his performances in the postseason dwindled drastically. He was able to reach the Championship 4 largely because of the playoff points he’d secured in the season’s first 26 races.

Now, Elliott admitted that these extra points would be extremely valuable this year. He also reiterated that he would love to get another win or two before the regular season ends.

He said, “They’d be huge for sure. I’ve been on both sides of the coin there. There have been years where I feel like we’ve not had many playoff points, and we’ve had a couple of years where we’ve had a bunch. I promise it is a lot easier when you have a lot in the bank. 

“That’s a much, much better way to go about it. The way the system is, so many things kind of being out of your control, it’s nice to have something to fall back on. So, of course, yeah, we want it all.”

Elliott is the top gun for now with 726 points and six playoff points. His teammate, William Byron, trails him in second place with 722 points and 12 playoff points. Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin, who are third and fourth on the table, best them both with 23 and 24 playoff points, respectively.

For Elliott to beat out this crowd and gain the biggest advantage in the postseason, he needs to perform at his best through the next four races. This would be an apt moment for him to remember his own words from last year.

He said about his 2022 season, “Any playoff points that you can get and stack up can certainly help propel you through the playoffs. We saw that in 2022. We had quite a number stacked up in the bank, and that was why we got to Phoenix.

“We had run so badly throughout the course of those playoffs that without our 35 or 40 points that came from wins that we had done early in the season, we would have never made it.”

Hopefully, Elliott will be able to replicate that year’s success and have a stronger postseason this time.