Chase Elliott brings confidence to NASCAR’s must-win playoff situation at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Chase Elliott heads into Sunday’s playoff race at Martinsville Speedway focused on winning to advance to the Championship 4, and he’s confident he can get it done.

“I think the last two weeks have been as good as we’ve been in this car, especially since the end of 2022, for sure,” he said on Saturday.

Elliott finished second in Sunday’s race (2 p.m. ET on NBC). It’s his best start since winning the pole at New Hampshire in late June.

Elliott enters the event 43 points below the cut. Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick secured their spots in the Championship 4 with wins in this round.

That leaves six drivers competing for the final two spots in next week’s title race. Christopher Bell and William Byron hold those spots, but Byron, who is seven points above the cut line, said he felt the need to win because of the competition behind him.

Below the cut are Kyle Larson (-7 points), Denny Hamlin (-18), Ryan Blaney (-38) and Elliott.

Denny Hamlin’s crash in Saturday practice at Martinsville Speedway puts title hopes in jeopardy

Elliott is the only playoff driver without multiple wins this season. His only win was in Texas in April.

“Definitely we need to win more races and I think that’s what we know,” crew chief Alan Gustafson said this week. “There are probably opportunities we didn’t take or risks we didn’t take. … At the end of the day, what really matters is what happens this week and next.”

While the last two races in Las Vegas and Homestead don’t measure up to the tight turns and short track at Martinsville, Elliott is encouraged by how his team performed.

The two drivers will join Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick in Championship 4.

He was running well in Las Vegas until his car was damaged in the incident with Reddick. Elliott finished fifth last week at Homestead, his second top-five since 2018, and led 81 laps.

“I’m excited about the weekend and just excited about where we ended up,” Elliott said. “Las Vegas was terrible. I mean horrible, horrible. And so is Homestead, actually about two years plus maybe three years at both of those places. So to go and have the speed we’ve had the last couple of weeks, I think it’s great.

“I think even though we didn’t get the results we wanted, I think you have to enjoy it because man, there have been some bad days at these tracks over the last few years, in particular. So to stick together, to keep working, to keep pushing and to find a way to make the places that were troubled better, I think those are the signs you want to see in a team.”

Chase Elliott starts second, leading the playoff drivers in the Final 8 Final.

Elliott will look to repeat what he did in 2020 when he won the Final 8 at Martinsville to advance to the championship race, which he won the following week.

“When I look back on that year, that win was as big as Phoenix because without it, you don’t have that chance,” Elliott said. “It’s just been a crazy week. You walk in here with your back against the wall. It’s not like you won Las Vegas, right, and you’ve been looking at Phoenix for two or three weeks. For us, we’re all eyes on Homestead. And now all eyes are on Martinsville.

“I didn’t even think about Phoenix. It’s just about getting the job done right now. I think when you go through these situations, I really believe in our process and trust it. If we can go and do the work (Sunday), then you go and start your homework (Sunday) evening.

“You start preparing and preparing and that’s what we did. We had no choice. We were locked in Martinsville. We were able to get the job done. And then when the checkered flag flew, we tried to enjoy the moment a little bit, but it was hard to realize that in seven days you’re competing for the championship.”