Chase Elliott has not won a race since Texas Motor Speedway last season, more than one year ago. Snapping this streak requires many things to go right for the No. 9 team, but Elliott is particularly focused on his Saturday struggles.
His average starting position through 16 races this season is 15.4, which buries him in the field early in races where track position is crucial.
"It's a little bit of everything truthfully, but I think probably the biggest one, is qualifying," Elliott told media members at Pocono Raceway on Saturday. "You know, I think the qualifying thing is so important and an area that I have struggled in. No doubt. So, when I look at some of the races -- I look at Michigan, I think Michigan is a good example.
"We got ourselves up front and when that happened, I thought we were super competitive. It was like night and day from running around 10th to 20th and just a lot of traffic, and starting runs in traffic and it can just really dictate what your car drives like."
The 2020 Cup Series champion has only started inside the top 10 four times this season. He qualified ninth at Kansas Speedway, sixth at Phoenix Raceway, third at Circuit of the Americas, and second at Martinsville Speedway.
He started inisde the top 15 in three other races. He has lined up 16th or worse in nine races. This includes starting 30th at Talladega Superspeedway and 29th at Texas Motor Speedway after struggles in qualifying.
"So, I think being up front, having a really good pit stall, keeping yourself up there, it can change the complexion of your day in such a large way that it can really be overlooked," Elliott added.
"So, I think that would be really top of mind for me as I look at what is one thing that we can do to help ourselves, and I think that is probably it."
These struggles during qualifying have put Elliott at a disadvantage early in races when he has needed to gain ground and put himself in position for stage points. The result is that he has 87 stage points this season.
This puts him behind Hendrick teammates William Byron (172), Kyle Larson (132), and Alex Bowman (91).
Despite starting each race further back in the field, Elliott and the No. 9 team have delivered stronger finishes. They have finished 20th or better in every race this season while accumulating four top-five finishes and eight top-10s. This has helped Elliott move to fourth in the Cup Series standings.
He just hasn't scored any stage wins or race wins, which will put him at a serious disadvantage once the playoffs begin.
"I think for us there have been some high spots and to be honest, there have been weeks where we have run well where we have had a good finish, and there have been weeks where we have not had a good finish and I can go home and be like, 'Man, we were in the mix, and we had good pace today,'" Elliott said.
"And those are the weeks where you just want to feel like you are in the ball game as it pertains to pace, doing the right things, and getting up in there and giving yourself a shot. Those days I can go home and have something to be proud of. It's the days and weekends where we are just not even relevant that I think are the most frustrating to me. We have had more of those than I would want to have and that we would want to have as a team."