NASCAR CUP SERIES
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
ROUND OF EIGHT: ELIMINATION RACE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
NOVEMBER 2, 2024
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Martinsville Speedway.
Media Availability Quotes:
LAST WEEK AFTER THE RACE, YOU SAID YOU WERE VERY CONFIDENT ABOUT DOING WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO THIS WEEKEND. WHY ARE YOU SO CONFIDENT?
“I just feel good about where we’re at. I think we’ve run really well the last two weeks. I thought our team was operating at an extremely high level last weekend across the boards, so it’s great time to be doing that. I think we’re all in a really good place. I’m in a good place with everything. And yeah, just proud of how we’ve been running. We’ve been right in the thick of it; right in the mix. When you’re giving yourselves those opportunities, why wouldn’t you be confident in coming to a place that we’ve been able to run well before? Even more so, leaving two places that we have not run well at, historically, and came off with two good weekends. So yeah, I’m really looking forward to it; try to get going and get to work.”
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN USE THIS WEEKEND FROM 2020, WHEN YOU WERE IN THIS POSITION, IN A ‘MUST-WIN’, AND GO ON AND WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
“No, not from a car perspective. I think too much has changed. But certainly from an experience standpoint and just having been here before; kind of knowing where we’re at and what we have going on, from a mental standpoint, I guess. Just understanding where we’re at; what’s ahead and how to do that. So yeah, I feel good about all of those things. Even the year we won, we had been in this position before then, too. So I think having a little experience of that certainly isn’t a bad thing. But I truthfully think it’s more just about how you’re operating right now; what have you done for me lately, kind of situation. Fortunately for us, lately, it’s been good. We just have to keep doing that.”
I DON’T DOUBT AT ALL THAT YOU’RE BEING GENIUNE ABOUT YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL. HOW DID YOU GET TO THIS POINT, WHERE YOU CAN SHOW UP TO A PRESSURE-FILLED MOMENT AND HAVE THAT CONFIDENCE?
“Just having been in that spot before. We’ve been fortunate enough to get to the Round of Eight a handful of times. Being in a ‘must-win’ at Martinsville is not necessarily a good thing, right? You would have much rather already punched your ticket or be in a points situation that is not last. That would also be good, too. There’s good and bad that comes with having the experience of being where we’re at. But we have and that’s the reality. The reality is that we have to go out here and perform at an extremely high level. If the weekend isn’t perfect, it’s got to be really close. I think the more you put yourself in those positions, the more you feel comfortable in those position and just are able to recognize the important factors that go into ultimately what’s going to give us the best result on Sunday. You just dial that in and go to work. We’ve had a good week of preparation, I feel like. We’ll find out here shortly, kind of where we’re at.”
WITH IT BEING A LONGER RACE AND A DIFFERENT TIRE, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN TAKE FROM THE SPRING RACE THAT YOU CAN APPLY HERE THIS WEEKEND?
“Well, I think the tire thing is a question mark for all of us.. that nobody really knows what to expect. We’ll get practice laps and just see what things feel like. I think the balance is probably a little bit of a guess for everybody off the truck. So just trying to adapt and see what reality really is. You hear about it, and you can kind of see and understand what the tire is and isn’t as it’s sitting there.. you know, how soft it is and so on and so forth. But yeah, we just have to get some laps and be able to adjust quickly and confidently and get a good game plan for tomorrow. But today is really important. Having a good qualifying effort is a big deal. We just have to get rolling and see where things are at. It’s still Martinsville, though. There’s going to be some similarities somewhere. What that is exactly, I don’t know. But it’s still Martinsville and this place doesn’t really seem to change a whole lot year-to-year, with the concrete corners and such. I have to imagine that there will be a certain part of the weekend that has some historical data that will matter.”
DURING THE RACE, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE IN THE POINTS?
“In my position, no. I have no use of that information. It does me no good. We’re so far out, that it doesn’t matter. There’s no chance that we’re going to be able to point our way through in a situation like this. If I was in a position where points were more crucial or if we were on the plus-side of the cutline right now, then probably I would want to know. But even in that situation, I think we’re pretty aware. There are only seven other guys, so it’s pretty easy to kind of keep up yourself and just do some quick math, to at least get you close, and go from there. But in our situation in particular this weekend, that does me no good.”
EARLIER THIS WEEK, CLIFF DANIELS, ALAN GUSTAFSON AND RUDY FUGLE WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT EXTRA BRAKE WEAR WITH THE EXTENDED PRACTICE. WITH YOUR PREP WORK THIS WEEK, HAS THERE BEEN MORE CONVERSATION ABOUT STRIKING THAT BALANCE BETWEEN GETTING THE INFORMATION YOU NEED ABOUT THE TIRES AND NOT DESTROYING YOUR BRAKES?
“Yeah, it’s certainly a topic. But I don’t think you can just lay up in practice because ultimately I think that’s going to then hurt you for either potential race balance information that you might want for tomorrow or get you out of a rhythm that I think is really important for not only the race, but also for qualifying, too. That’s kind of not as much my department, as it pertains to trying to go and lobby for those things. Those guys have a much better pulse on what the reality is there and hopefully they’re at least openminded to a potential concern that would include everybody. That would have to be looked at, right? We’ll see as we get through practice and what the situation is, but I don’t think you can afford to just take it easy today and save your brakes for tomorrow. Maybe we all blow the brakes off of it and somebody that saves their brakes today wins tomorrow. But if they do, boy that’s going to really surprise me.”
GIVEN YOUR POINTS POSITION, YOU HAVE TO WIN. HAS THIS WEEK OF PREPARATION AND CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU AND ALAN (GUSTAFSON) BEEN ANY EASIER, JUST GIVEN THAT YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT HAS TO BE DONE?
“Truthfully, it’s been our mindset since we got to Las Vegas. It has not changed. Did we have a chance at pointing our way through, if we had three really good runs? Maybe. But I still think it would have been hard for us to point our way in with how far below we were without having any playoff points. So yeah, I think that there’s an element that makes things really straightforward and simple, and hopefully that helps us. There are other guys that are in that position, too. At this point of the year, most of the field is in that position, really when you think about it. Most of the field is out of the points, totally. And then there are two or three of us that have to win. One guy probably doesn’t have to win, and then the rest of us are in a position where you have to have that mentality. So that is true.. it’s a good point. But I think we’re very much in the majority in that right now.”
AFTER WATCHING THE TRUCK RACE LAST NIGHT, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON WHAT’S FAIR AND WHAT’S NOT, AND WHAT YOU’RE WILLING TO AT THE END OF THESE RACES?
“Yeah, I was watching. You know, that’s really tough. We see this stuff time and time again at this place. I don’t love it, but it’s become very much normal.. not that I like that. I’m a big Christian Eckes fan. I think he’s done a great job. I’ve enjoyed watching him progress and be a great competitor. I can see his side of the fence, and I can also see Taylor’s (Gray) side of the fence and also Ben’s (Rhodes) side, too. I get it.. I totally understand. I try to look at things from all the different directions, so I get it. I don’t love it, but if you’re not out there trying to — odds are if you’re not the one taking advantage of things, you’re probably going to get taken advantage of. That’s the unfortunate truth of kind of what things have come to in this arena now.”
WIN, LOSE OR DRAW IN THESE PLAYOFFS, DO YOU ENJOY BEING A PART OF THE PROCESS?
“Well it’s better to be a part of it than being watching from the outside. I’ve been on both sides of the fence. And of course as a competitor, you’re trying to achieve the ultimate prize, and that’s to win a championship at the end of the year. Yeah, of course I love that. That’s certainly exciting for me and our whole team. There’s an element to the playoff format — it’s crazy and it’s wild. There are parts of it that I don’t love, but it’s all I’ve known since I’ve been here. I don’t really see it changing. And I think for us, we just really learn to appreciate it; like it and try to enjoy these moments and recognize that we have a great opportunity in front of us to go out there and win these next two weeks and have a much better offseason than we would if we don’t. It is what it is in a lot of ways. But yes, I’ve grown to just enjoy these moments because we have an opportunity, more than anything. The only way to win this thing is to enjoy these spots.”
AS THIS SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE, IS THIS TEAM BACK TO – I DON’T WANT TO SAY ‘BACK’, BUT ARE YOU BACK TO MAYBE A BASELINE OF WHERE YOU SHOULD BE WITH THE CAPABILITY NOW OF GETTING STRONGER?
“Yeah, I think the last two weeks have been probably as good as we’ve been in this car.. particularly since the end of 2022, for sure. We fired off really well, as you mentioned, and then got behind. There’s been some peaks — unfortunately there’s been more valleys than there’s been peaks, but there’s been some good days mixed in there, too, just not on a consistent basis. And particularly at some of the tracks that we’ve been to the last two weeks.. that’s what I was alluding to earlier. I’m just really proud of our team in a lot of ways. I’m excited for the weekend and just excited for where we’re at. Las Vegas has been horrendous.. I mean horrendous, horrendous. And so has Homestead, for really about two years plus.. maybe three years on both of those places. So to go and to have the type of speed we’ve had the last couple of weeks, I think that’s great. I think that’s something that — while we didn’t get the results that we wanted, I think you have to enjoy that because man, there’s been some bad days over the last few years at those tracks in particular. So to stick together, continue to work and push and find a way to make the places that have been a struggle better, I think those are the signs that you want to see out of a team. That is the type of mentality and effort that gives me a lot of energy for the weekend. While this is nothing like Vegas or nothing like Phoenix, but our pit stops were great last weekend. I think Alan (Gustafson) called a great race. All the components that you need to make a run are sitting right there, so we just have to go get it.”
WHAT DID YOU END UP DOING WITH YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY?
“It’s currently still at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. It’s been there since.. I guess since we won. I never went and got it, so it’s still sitting over there, as far as I know. I haven’t been over there in a little bit, but I’m fairly certain somebody would have told me if it was gone at this juncture (laughs). I should probably swing through and pick it up one day, but I just haven’t gotten around to that yet.”
YOU’VE SAID THINGS HAVE BEEN BETTER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. AS A DRIVER, WHAT’S THAT ALLOWED YOU TO DO MORE OF, IN TERMS OF FEELING MORE COMFORTABLE? HOW HAS THAT ALLOWED YOU TO EXCEL, AS OPPOSED TO WHEN THE CAR IS AT A 85 TO 90 PERCENT?
“Well I think it’s a collective effort. It’s not just like a ‘magic button.. go fast’. That’s just not how it works. It’s a collective effort of time, effort, conversation — what do I need out of my car to give me the most comfort. That might be a little different for everyone. And I think also, adjusting your driving style to suit what the car wants in those configurations to go fast. So it’s very much a collective effort. It’s required me to look at things a little differently, I think from a driver’s standpoint. So it’s not one thing, and I just think as you collectively get better and you gain some confidence in different areas, then that’s just a step. And then you try to find what it takes to take another step. The steps are very, very small. You’re not taking big jumps. Little bits here and there can make a huge difference, especially with the landscape that we’re in nowadays, as you well know.”
NOT MANY PEOPLE WILL GET TO EXPERIENCE WHAT YOU DID IN 2020. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT WEEK LEADING UP TO THAT RACE, WHAT IS IT THAT STAND OUT TO YOU?
“Yeah, this is an extremely important weekend. When I look back at that year, this win was as big as Phoenix because without it, you don’t have that shot. It was just a crazy week, you know honestly. You come in here and your back is against the wall. It’s not like you won Vegas, right, and you’re all eyes on Phoenix for two or three weeks. For us, we’re all eyes on Homestead. And then now, it’s all eyes on Martinsville. I haven’t even thought about Phoenix. It’s just about getting the job done right now. I think as you go through those situations, I really believe and trust in our process. If we’re able to go and get the job done tomorrow, then you go and start your homework tomorrow night. You start preparing and getting ready, and that’s what we did. We didn’t have a choice. We were locked-in on Martinsville. We were able to get the job done. And then when the checkered flag flew, we tried to enjoy the moment for a little while, but it was kind of hard to knowing that in seven days, you’re racing for a championship. It was fast.. it was quick. But you know, I think the week gives you enough time to get ready. Fortunately that year, it did.”
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