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Chase Elliott recently explained the tightrope a NASCAR driver has to walk in high-pressure situations during a race. In a conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Hendrick Motorsports driver explained the fine balance of managing several aspects of a late-race restart.
Earnhardt asked Elliott to take him through a late-race restart and what's necessary for a driver to be able to succeed.
"I can't imagine firing off knowing that the guy behind you is shoving you down that front straightaway off into turn 1 and you just gotta do your best to hang on," Junior described.
Elliot explained:
"It's a double-edged sword because you almost don't want to get too good of a launch because you need the guys' push behind you to get you get going. So that means you're kinda relying on his push to help clear the outside lane. But the problem with that is if you have a good push from him, you are susceptible to him pulling out of line to you as you get closer to the corner."
The #9 driver claimed that it's "a lot to manage" considering that a driver needs that push from behind to get going. At the same time, Elliott also wishes that the leader had more control of the situation because such a situation gives a lot of advantage to the people in the second row, especially on tracks with wider grooves.
"Nonetheless, that's what we got. It's kinda game on and you gotta get aggressive," Elliott added.
What are Chase Elliott's goals in 2024?
Ahead of the start of the 2024 season, Chase Elliott was asked about his goals for the season. Elliott was coming off a pretty disappointing 2023 season, a season in which he went winless, got suspended, missed a few races because of an injury, and missed the playoffs.
But all of this didn't change how he approaches every season. Elliot said (via SI):
"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."
Elliott's goal of winning 15 races may not be something he might fulfill in the Next Gen era. But with his win in Texas and with his recent run of finishes, there's no denying that he would be a contender to win in the coming races.
