Chase Elliott has put 2023 in his rearview, now it's full speed ahead in 2024
Chase Elliott recently sat down with AutoRacingDigest.com's Christopher Everidge to discuss many aspects of his 2024 season at Hendrick Motorsports and the challenges that may come with it.
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The 2023 season for Chase Elliott came with many challenges that the Hendrick Motorsports driver had not previously faced in his NASCAR Cup series career, outlined by the absence of multiple races and the failure to make the 2023 playoffs.
But that's all in the rearview mirror. Elliott believes 2024 will be a completely different story that aligns more with his 2020 championship season. Let's find out why in this question-and-answer repartee with the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott.
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ARD) To kick things off just like we will in Daytona this weekend, Chase is one of the most successful drivers to not win the Daytona 500. He had the following to say about putting his name on that list with many of the greats this weekend.
Chas Elliott: "I'd love to win like everyone else! It would be a great way to start the season. It's a big event, a meaningful one in NASCAR. I think like most people, it's a race that's really hard to win, with a lot out of your control. There's a lot of guys who have been trying for a long time. It would be great to end your career and say you won that race [Daytona 500] and check that box. I would certainly love to do it."
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ARD) Something that may have gotten lost in the offseason silliness was quite an important change for the No. 9 team in the personnel department. With Eddie D'Hondt moving to Stewart-Haas Racing, Elliott's team needed to replace its long-term spotter. That change could be pretty smooth though, considering Trey Poole will spot for Elliott in 2024, has spotted him before and is the driver's cousin. This is what Chase had to say about his 2024 spotter change.
CE: " I think he's going to do a good job. He did a good job at the Clash last weekend, we worked together quite a bit throughout my career in other forms of racing like short tracks, and has done some NASCAR stuff with me here and there. He's got more experience than I think people realize and he has been familiar with our team and how we operate. The speedway stuff may be a greater challenge and he hasn't done much plate racing spotting, but I think he will adapt quickly. We have the duel Thursday night to help prepare, but I think with all those things combined, we will be ready!"
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ARD) We asked Elliott his thoughts on the schedule change that happened over the offseason that tweaked many aspects of the 2024 calendar, including the playoffs, and the potential challenges that come from that. With a new schedule that comes with different runs of tracks, Chase was asked if this calendar comes with any new challenges.
CE: "Yes, the schedule has changed a little bit but I don't think it changes how you prepare, to be honest. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think it has changed enough to restructure how you go about your season."
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ARD) Chase was asked if he had any goals for the 2024 season that weren't based on any number or stat, just personally. Here's what he had to say:
CE: "My goal this year and what is the goal every year is to be a contender on a weekly basis and win. I'd love to win 15 races and get 15 poles like everyone else does, but to be satisfied I just want to be a contender each week. Whether the (racing) surface is brand new or 15 years old, I just want to show up with a shot."
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ARD: Contending on a weekly basis is something that Hendrick Motorsports does almost every year. Chase was asked about the improvements the teams have made behind the scenes to give their drivers a championship ride.
CE: " I've seen it first hand. They're always pushing, putting the cars on diets, to get things as light, as low, and far to the left as possible. I think they did a really good job at some of those fundamental items in the winter. That I have personally seen firsthand and as a team, we are in a good place. You always get through the winter and feel like you've done a great job but until you get that report card over the course of the first month, you really don't know where you stack up. We'll have to wait and see if we've done our homework as good as everyone else."
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ARD) It's apparent that HMS brings a solid car every year and according to Elliott, 2024 will be much of the same, if not better. But it's about the driver in the car, as well. With a couple of years down our belts with the next-gen car, Chase was asked what a driver could do in this car to gain an advantage, especially with the amount of parity we see in the sport now.
CE: "Everyone is shifting. It's hard to find an advantage. Everything matters, you can't have any weak areas, and a bad practice bleeds over into qualifying, which means you have a bad pit pick which means your pitstops are going to be slow all day long. Everything matters. With this car, it's more and more the same and harder to be different. It puts a lot of emphasis on the little details throughout the weekend and that's going to become even more relevant the more we become the same."
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ARD) Elliott was asked about the pressure he will face this year. Not only because of his status in the sport, but with missing the 2023 playoffs, as well as multiple races in 2023, talk about the pressure to come back with a "bounce back" season of sorts, to put 2023 behind him, and if he feels that pressure.
CE: "I just want to be, and we as a team just want to be, competitive each week and be contenders. We don't care about opinions or expectations outside of our room, our little office that we work in every week. That is the expectation that matters and that's really all we're focused on. It's just keeping things simple and being a contender and that's all we are worried about. If we're doing that the rest of the stuff will figure itself out."
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ARD) Finally, after mentioning the 2023 season plagued by injury, Chase reassured fans and viewers alike that he is 100% for the new season.
CE: " My shoulder after the Clash really felt better than I was anticipating. Anytime you have surgery, mobility is really a big deal, and the way you sit in those cars is a hard thing to recreate in physical therapy. Anytime you get into an environment you can't 100% recreate, you are a little unsure what that will feel like. But everything felt really good. The doctors all feel really good about it. My approach has been if they aren't worried about it then I'm not worried about it. They know way more than I do."
With all that being said, Elliott and HMS will be looking forward to a successful 2024, and a championship come the season finale in Phoenix. The work has been done in the offseason, and Chase feels more confident than ever for a successful year. AutoRacingDigest.com thanks Chase for his time in answering these questions.