Chase Elliott driving like a veteran

It’s hard to believe Chase Elliott still has a yellow rookie stripe on the back of his bumper. At Pocono, the 20-year-old Sprint Cup freshman led 51 of 160 laps before finishing fourth, his fifth consecutive top-10 result and his 10th top 10 in 14 starts. 

Significantly, Elliott had no problems holding his own while battling for the lead throughout the Axalta 400 against such Sprint Cup champions as Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski or his redoubtable Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. 

Elliott’s car was set up for long runs. But in a race slowed by 10 cautions, the driver of the #24 Chevrolet was also able to exhibit his restart skills.  

“What a fast NAPA Chevy!” he exclaimed afterward. “We had a car that could compete for the lead all day.

“There were definitely times we were better than others. I wish once we had taken a couple of those green flags after the cautions, we could have got going and ran some laps.  

“That's not how the day unfolded, so we'll take it and move on. Just try to be aware of the mistakes I made, having a chance there at the end and not getting it done.”

Elliott is more critical of himself than pundits are of the driver. Even Earnhardt, who battled Elliott for the lead on the final restart at Pocono on Monday, was left impressed by the youngster. And that’s despite knowing precisely what to expect from the hard-charging freshman, who earned an Xfinity title while racing for Dale’s JR Motorsports.

“You don’t get hired by a team like that unless you're good,” Earnhardt said. “I didn't expect him to struggle.

“I thought that he's got a lot of laps under his belt. He's been to a lot of high‑pressure situations, whether it's running his late models somewhere – the competition is tough in the late model series, on those small tracks – and in the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series.  

“He's been in so many scenarios. If you look at his career over the last four or five years. He's been through it all. Certainly learned a ton, got a real good attitude, really calm, doesn't get excited about much, and he's got a really, really good crew chief [Alan Gustafson], a guy that I think really is wrapping his arms around the idea of working with Chase and grooming Chase.”

No question, Gustafson waited patiently for the opportunity to develop another young driver. He was Kyle Busch’s crew chief from 2005 through ’07. After serving one year with Casey Mears, he would oversee the retirement tours for Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. But the opportunity to cultivate a talent such as Elliott was something Gustafson has waited nearly a decade for. 

Sure, Gordon had stout numbers after 14 races last year, posting three poles, two top fives, eight top 10s and 162 laps led. At this point last year, the #24 was 10th in the standings. Although Elliott has led half the laps (83), he’s exceeded Gordon in top fives (five), top 10s (10) and is currently seventh in the standings. 

Earnhardt credits Gordon with establishing the perfect environment to welcome Elliott in to the Hendrick Motorsports fold. 

“The team is doing an amazing job,” Earnhardt said. “They were always fast with Jeff, and I think the transition couldn't have been better.

“Jeff really set that team up for the transition where it's so smooth. Just a perfect storm situation for Chase, and he's doing a great job.  He's become a great teammate.”

Although Elliott was aggressive on Monday, he was very conscious of his car’s limits – which were few. 

“I feel like we had a car that could do it today,” he commented. “I wish I had been just a little more patient behind Dale. I felt like I made a big mistake there in the Tunnel [Turn] and it gave [eventual winner] Kurt Busch a big run.  

“The biggest thing is just to learn and just be really proud that we had a super-fast car, a car that could lead all day and a group of guys that are willing to fight to try to get to Victory Lane.” 

Don’t worry Chase. You’ll be there soon enough.