Can Chase Elliott make it three in a row?

If you had an unlimited budget to design and construct a new race track, what would it look like?

For Chase Elliott, it’s an easy answer. He would build a track that resembles Richmond International Raceway, where the NASCAR Nationwide Series will continue its season with race No. 8 of 33 on April 25.

Richmond is a three-quarter-mile track, relatively flat with a worn surface, which makes for great short-track racing and gives drivers many opportunities to pass. Elliott made his name on short tracks. Short tracks are his forte, even though he’s shown he can win on bigger tracks with little to no experience.

Interestingly enough, Richmond is one of the few places on the NNS schedule that the 18-year-old is somewhat familiar with. He has raced there twice in the K&N Pro Series East, finishing second in the 2012 event.

Elliott, in the Dale Earnhardt, Jr.-owned JR Motorsports NAPA number 9 Chevrolet, will proceed to his idea of the perfect track on the heels of two consecutive victories, which have propelled him into the series points lead, making him the youngest to ever hold the top spot. His advantage over fellow teammate, Regan Smith, grew to 13 points after his Darlington win. Elliott also retains a 22-point lead over Ty Dillon in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year column. Smith and Kevin Harvick will be in the race as Elliott's teammates.

On Elliott's idea of the perfect race track: "If I constructed a new race track, I would make it racy but where you have to run up against the wall. It would probably be a shorter track, maybe just a little bigger than a half-mile. The biggest thing would be to make sure the surface is worn out, because that's going to put on the best show for the fans, and that's what matters.”

On the team’s mentality after two consecutive victories: "The past few weeks have been unbelievable. They are memories I will never forget. But there’s so much racing to be done, and everybody knows that. I just have to make sure we keep our heads on straight and make sure we stay on the right track, and that’s to get better every week. We need to continue to get better, because that's what our competition is doing right now.”

JR Motorsports