“I wish I could have made it happen”: Chase Elliott reflects on his late race push that fell short in Sonoma 

Chase Elliott achieved a third-place finish at the Toyota Save Mart 350. Shane van Gisbergen went on to clinch the victory at Sonoma Raceway, his third win of the season. Elliott finished behind Chase Briscoe, who took the runner-up position.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver has shown incredible consistency this season with 20 consecutive top 20 finishes. The driver has seven top fives, 11 top 10s, and an average finishing position of 10.2 in 2025, which is truly remarkable. Elliott started the Sonoma race from 13th on the grid and made up places throughout the race to finish in the top five.

Chase Elliott shared his thoughts and opinions while reviewing the Sonoma race.

"The call by Alan Gustafson was great. It was nice to be on offense and give ourselves a shot. I wish I could have made it happen there. I was trying, but I just couldn’t get going like we needed to there at the end. We had a really fast No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet all day. I thought we were really solid. We probably needed a little bit more to get Shane van Gisbergen and Chase Briscoe,” Chase Elliott said via NBC Sports.

The last time Elliott finished outside the top-20 was way back in Las Vegas during the 2024 season. The driver suffered issues with the suspension of his car, resulting in a 33rd-place finish for him.

Kyle Larson reflects on teammate Chase Elliott's consistency this season

Chase Elliott is one of the most, if not the most, consistent drivers in this year's NASCAR Cup Series season. He also recently clinched a victory at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, confirming his spot in the NASCAR playoffs.

The Hendrick Motorsports team has shown dominance this season with its drivers ranked one, two, and three in the current Cup Series standings. Elliott's teammate, Kyle Larson, recently shared his thoughts on the close competition between the Hendrick Motorsports drivers and how he was shocked to see Elliott's position in the rankings after the race at Atlanta.

"Chase Elliott is always consistent, so he’s just quietly kind of there. You know, after his win he had, I was shocked. I didn’t even know he was that close in points. And then, yeah, William Byron has been really strong, but he’s had some bad luck here in a couple of races lately," Kyle Larson said via Bob Pockrass.

Chase Elliott is currently ranked second in the NASCAR Cup Series standings for this season, just 14 points behind his teammate, William Byron, who currently leads the standings. The driver has scored 654 points so far and will be back in action for the next race at Dover International Speedway.