Chase Elliott is once again flying under the radar, churning out consistent results and mounting a silent title charge. Last weekend in the 20th race of the year, the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma, Elliott finished third. This marked his 20th consecutive top-20 finish this season. His last finish outside the top 20 was way back in the 2024 fall race at Las Vegas, where he finished 33rd. The #9 HMS team has been building momentum for the past few weeks, and Elliott has four top 5 finishes in his last five starts, including that win at Echopark Speedway. And usually, this type of momentum leads to a win.
NASCAR is headed to a traditional oval at Dover Motor Speedway this weekend. While the likes of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson are touted as clear favorites, people might be missing out on Chase Elliott.
Elliott has won twice at Dover. He also has 10 top-five finishes, which is more than at any other track for him. His average finish at Dover is 9.5, and that shows how good he’s been on the one-mile concrete track. His last win came back in 2022, which was the beginning of the Next Gen era. This race had it all. From 12 cautions to a red flag due to weather, but the driver of the #9 Chevy stuck to his task and fended off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. late in the race
After winning, Elliott celebrated. He then talked about the victory. “Just great to get NAPA back to victory lane, great to get Hendrick Motorsports back to victory lane. Just so proud, this one means a lot in a lot of different ways.” While the bookmakers are focusing on the likes of Hamlin and Larson with the highest winning odds, fans are starting to notice that Elliott is also coming in hot this weekend.
NORTH WILKESBORO, NC – MAY 19: Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet enters his race car prior to practice for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series All-Star Race on May 19, 2023 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, NC. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAY 19 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon230519846
A few fans were stunned after looking at Chase Elliott’s record at Dover and took to Reddit. “I didn’t realize how good Chase Elliott is at Dover,” a fan posted. Well, this caught the attention of the racing community online, and next thing you know fans were rallying behind the 2020 NASCAR champ to lift the trophy at Monster Mile. Some credited his consistency to Hendrick Motorsports’ strong run at the track, while others even presented a scenario where he could’ve added to his winning tally.
“Mr. Consistent”: Fans banking on Chase Elliott to deliver at Dover
A fan noted that Elliott’s success at Dover is a part of Hendrick Motorsports’ long and dominant history of winning. “it’s a proud hendrick tradition.” The team does indeed have a long and undisputed history of dominance at Monster Mile. Alongside Elliott, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman have also bagged a win at the track. Bowman’s win in 2021 saw all four HMS cars finish 1-2-2-4. This was only the fourth occurrence when a team managed to pull off such a feat in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Another enthusiastic remark reflects the strong belief that Elliott has a real shot at victory. “Clyde gonna do a win dis weekend. They gonna ring da sireeeeeen.” The ‘ringing the siren’ tradition in Dawsonville, Georgia, is a unique hometown celebration where a siren sounds whenever a local NASCAR hero wins a race. And this fan believes that Elliott is going to repeat his winning heroics again at Dover.
Despite Elliott’s strong statistics, some fans feel his outright winning capability at Dover is sometimes overlooked by the broader racing world. “I ain’t gonna call him a dark horse because his stats pop off the page, but I think a lot of people are training their eyes on his teammate Bowman instead. Elliott is a more likely ‘status quo’ pick to win and gets faded every weekend because he’s been Mr. Consistent rather than Mr. Raw Speed.”
Before his win in Atlanta, there was a lot of pressure on Elliott as he wasn’t able to close the deal and secure his playoff spot. Even Kyle Petty didn’t hold back in calling him out, “How can our most popular driver not win races?” Win is the only metric that is used to measure a driver’s success, and while Elliott has shown consistency, he’s not a multi-race winner. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and even SVG have three wins to their name. But for hardcore Elliott fans, these comparison is only surface level as they believe he has enough in his tank to go against any driver.
Finally, a fan recalled a memorable near-victory from early in Chase Elliott’s career, underscoring his long-standing potential at the track. “He was about a lap and a half away from getting his first career win there in 2017 but got passed by Kyle Busch late.” A young Elliott was almost inconsolable, who seemed to have his first win in his sights at the Monster Mile. He had the lead with 40 laps to go but was passed by Rowdy Busch as they took the white flag. That loss did sting him, but since then, he has made this track his stomping ground.
Sure, the likes of Hamlin and Byron have the speed and momentum, but watch out for Chase Elliott; he might pop off this Sunday and bag his second win of 2025.
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