Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott's crew chief, Alan Gustafson, recently sat down with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 for an interview ahead of the final race of the Round of 12. During the pre-race interview, the crew chief pointed out the difference in their racing strategy from the 2024 season.Elliott has locked in his spot in the Round of Eight after spectacularly winning at the Kansas Speedway, making it his second win of the season. He became the second driver on the grid to secure his spot in the next phase of the playoffs, leading the #9 team to a better place than last year.The HMS driver currently leads the Cup Series playoff standings. Following that, Alan Gustafson is excited to do "whatever" the team wants to do and attack the Charlotte ROVAL race with everything they've got. Chase Elliott's crew chief explained that in the past two seasons, the team had to play it safe and focus on the points to make it to the next round. However, the tables have turned this season, and he told the media [00:30 onwards]:"So this should be whatever we want to do, right? We don't have to worry about any of that. And we can, we can shortest stages. We can run into the stages, we can do whatever we want to do, and it's going to have no impact on the fact we make the transfer the next round this year.""So excited about that, and excited for the chance to be aggressive there. And I think really in the position we're in, really in any competitor moving into the round of eight, you've got to win. So I think to keep that the focus, you know, every race on just strictly win the race is a good thing," he added.Chase Elliott is set to compete in the last race of the Round of 12, the Bank of America ROVAL 400, scheduled for Sunday, October 5, 2025, at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. His teammate, Kyle Larson, won the 109-lap race at the 2.28-mile road course in the 2024 season.“Was a little worried”: Chase Elliott shared his thoughts about his Kansas Speedway triumphFormer NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott won the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet in the closing laps of the race. He beat the race-dominating driver Denny Hamlin to the finish line after Hamlin's last-minute run-in with Bubba Wallace.The Joe Gibbs Racing driver dominated both stages of the race and led 159 laps after qualifying in P2. However, during the last restart at the event, the #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver charged his Toyota teammate, Bubba Wallace, with everything he had. Unfortunately, the JGR driver and 23XI Racing driver made contact, giving the HMS driver a chance to take the lead and win the race. Recalling the chance to take the lead, Chase Elliott told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90:"Yeah, it was crazy just the way it all kind of went, and yeah, I gave up, you know, we were eighth. Gave up a row to start tenth, uh, you know, outside row five, and was a little worried that might be too far back, um, but yeah, it kind of all started on the restart roll. The six gave me a good shove; I was able to get top three of the 24."Chase Elliott moved up two spots after his latest win at Kansas Speedway and currently ranks fifth in the Cup Series points table with 3104 points. Additionally, he secured two wins, 16 top tens, and 10 top fives in 31 starts this season.