NASCAR CUP SERIES
2025 PLAYOFF MEDIA DAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
AUGUST 27, 2025
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the start of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Media Availability Quotes:
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT HOW THE PLAYOFFS AFFECTS THOSE YOUNGER DRIVERS THAT DON’T QUITE HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE YOU DO?
“I’ve never really thought about it like that. I don’t really. I don’t really know. I’ve never thought about it in that regard. I mean, I feel like everyone, you know, when they come in…..I’m just trying to think about my first year, kind of my approach. I mean, from my perspective, it was pretty new, like the whole format. I think it started in, what, like 2014? So then, yeah, my first year was 2016, so it hadn’t been around a real long time, and I just remember those first couple years. I don’t think people realized how valuable the stage points were in my first couple of seasons, and there were like lots of stage points up for grabs, and no one really kind of knew, you know, how to balance that. But now I think it’s been around long enough at this juncture that everyone kind of understands how it works and it’s kind of normalized itself in my opinion. Because, when you watch these races, even just as a fan, I think you’re learning things. You don’t realize you’re learning them, but you are learning by watching.”
GOING OFF WITH THAT, YOU’RE ONE FOUR DEPENDING CHAMPIONS GOING FOR A REPEAT. HOW VALUABLE DO YOU THINK PAST EXPERIENCE, UNDER THIS FORMAT, OF THIS COMING ONSLAUGHT IS?
“Just having the experience in general, regardless of what the result was in the year before, I think the experience both good and bad can be helpful. So that is a great thing for our team. We have a lot of that. And we’ve all been around long enough to kind of see, you, some different things here and there, and I hope I hope it helps.”
CHASE, WHAT DO YOU SEE IS YOUR TEAM’S STRENGTHS GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS AND THE CHALLENGES THAT IT FACES?
“I think the experience that, you know, I alluded to a second ago is a major strength, as you just get faced with different situations throughout the final ten. You know, the challenges for us have been mainly on Saturdays, more than they’ve been on Sundays. I’ve been pretty open about that, but yeah, we’ve got to have better Saturdays to set ourselves up better for success.”
LOOKING AT HOW TRACKS LINE UP IN THE PLAYOFFS, OBVIOUSLY DARLINGTON THIS WEEK TO KICK IT OFF, HOW DO THE TRACKS LINE UP FOR YOU AS YOU LOOK AHEAD?
“Yeah, I’m definitely we get a time kind of person and especially a round at a time kind of person. I think you have to respect each round. This is going to be a tough round. You know, Darlington’s been a tough track for me. We’ve had some good runs here and there, but certainly not very consistent. And you look at Gateway, I think, as a company, we’ve been kind of off there. Bristol’s been a good track for us, but, you know, that’s only a third of it, right? So, we’ve got to make sure we give this round the respect it deserves and, you know, show up ready to go this weekend.”
NOW THAT YOU ARE IN IT, HOW MUCH DOES EVERY SINGLE WEEK COUNT AS A DRIVER?
“Yeah, it definitely, there’s a level of intensity to the final 10 that I think make it a lot of fun, that is just, yeah, it’s a little different vibe, but I enjoy it. I think all the competitors do. Our season’s pretty long, so kind of getting down to business and knowing that there’s something on the line every week, is a fun thing to be a part of. And it’s always felt that way. You know, just naturally as the years have gone by.”
DO YOU FEEL STRESSED FOR THE PLAYOFFS? IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE YOU HAVING ANY STRESS BECAUSE YOU CARRY IT SO WELL, BUT YOU’VE DONE A NUMBER OF PLAYOFFS AND I WONDER IF IT FEELS STRESSFUL?
“I mean, I think everybody gets stressed for one reason or another, you know. But I’m not stressed over the playoffs you know, I just want to do better, I want to run better, I want to be in better positions on a weekly basis. All those things motivate me to keep showing up, but the playoffs don’t…….I’m not anxious about it. I’m not, you know, nervous about it, I just want to go and make sure we’re doing everything we can do and just try to try to piece together some good weeks and that starts this weekend. So, it’s really that simple.”
WHAT’S THE HARDEST PART? NOT A PARTICULAR TRACK, BUT TO MAINTAIN WHATEVER YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN IF YOU’RE GOING TO SAIL THROUGH TO THE FINAL FOUR?
“Well, I think understanding that, you know, 10 weeks is a long time. Like, that’s a lot of racing, and it’s almost enough time for someone to have a good few weeks, go through a stretch of not so good weeks and then get good again. It’s a lot of racing, you know, over two months. So, I think sometimes you kind of get these questions about the playoffs, and it’s like, oh, there’s just the playoffs, you know, like, it’s just one thing, right? And it’s not. It’s a long period of time. And, you know, a lot of long hours working, you know in the shop, and travel. It’s just there’s 10 races and a lot can happen in 10 weeks.”
I THINK THAT’S GOOD YOU SAID THAT, BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE REALIZES THAT, RIGHT?
“Like I said, it seems like it kind of gets all combined into one thing and it’s so much more than that. So, it’s a long 10 weeks, but a fun 10 weeks, and they go by quick.”
DOES IT FEEL LIKE THIS SEASON, MAYBE MORE SO THAN OTHERS, AND MAYBE NOT, THAT THERE’S THE GUY THAT YOU’VE GOT TO BEAT. THAT THERE’S ONE PERSON OR ONE TEAM. DOES IT FEEL A LITTLE BIT MORE OPEN LIKE THERE’S MORE DRIVERS THAT WOULDN’T SURPRISE YOU TO GET TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR?
“No, I think it’s the same crowd. Personally, I think it’s… yeah, there’s been a lot of different winners, but I think you’ve got to go through the same crowd.”
AND COUNTING YOURSELF AMONG THAT, OBVIOUSLY?
“Of course, yeah.”
IS THERE ANY PLACE IN PARTICULAR THAT YOU FEEL LIKE THIS IS WHERE I’M GOING TO GO TO GET THE WIN VERSUS JUST SCORING THE POINTS?
“No, I don’t. I don’t look at it like that. It’s you know, I just want to be a team that we can go and feel that way every week. So, if you’re not doing that, then we’re not doing our jobs to the best of our abilities is how I look at it.”
YOU GUYS HAVE HAD A LOT OF CONSISTENCY THIS YEAR. DOES THAT GIVE YOU CONFIDENCE GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS THIS TIME?
“Yeah, I mean, consistency’s great, but it’s not the end goal by any stretch. Pace can save a lot of things, and we need to have some more pace. So hopefully we can gather some in, and put together some extra pace with the consistency, but it’s going to take both.”
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