NASCAR Insiders Cast Doubt On Chase Elliott’s Playoff Chances

On The Teardown podcast, The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi analyzed Chase Elliott’s prospects of reaching the championship race at Phoenix Raceway in November. Although Elliott remains in the hunt for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, both insiders revealed their doubts about his ability to secure a spot among the final four contenders in the Championship 4.

Elliott secured a single win during the regular season at the Texas Cup Series race, adding to an impressive tally of seven top-five finishes and 12 top-10 finishes leading up to the playoffs. Speaking about last Sunday’s ninth-place finish in the Kansas Speedway race, Gluck said:

“They did what they needed to do, I guess.

“I think he has three top 10s in four starts here to open the playoffs all except for Watkins Glenn. …But you look at the points and you’re like, ‘Well, you know I guess they’re alright, but he’s only plus four. That’s another mysterious one to me where you keep sort of thinking they’re gonna be okay and they’re gonna hit on something and he’s gonna have this breakout races and he’s gonna win his way in.

“He’s certainly a threat, but am I going to be like ‘Oh year, he’s going to the final four. Oh, Chase Elliott.’ There’s very few people I can say that about at this point.”

Bianchi echoed Gluck’s sentiment, stating that Elliott needs to elevate his performance if he wants a real shot at winning the championship. He said:

“I think this is a microcosm of the year where they’re in there and they’re in the mix and you feel like you kind of got acknowledged like, ‘Hey, the numbers say this.’ They’re second or third in the points all regular season, even leading a few weeks.

“You’re like, ‘Yeah they’re good, but they’re not.’ There’s still something missing. They’re not leading a bunch of laps, they’re not winning stages, they’re not doing the things that I look for out of a team that’s going to win a championship. But they’re still in the mix, they’re doing just enough to get by. I feel like that was the kind of thing today. Wasn’t a great day, but they left here with a top 10 on a day when everything else went haywire for just about everybody else.”

The upcoming Cup Series race is set for October 5th at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66-mile tri-oval located in Lincoln, Alabama. Known as the longest oval on the NASCAR circuit, Talladega also boasts a roval-style road course, adding to its unique challenge.