Chase Elliott has delivered big moments in past playoff appearances, but he is looking for something different heading to Atlanta. He just wants a reset.
"These next 10 races; they're intense," Elliott said after Darlington. "So myself and this entire NAPA Chevy team need to hit the reset button in a big way."
The 2020 Cup Series champion entered Sunday night's Southern 500 with an opportunity to lock up 15 bonus playoff points. He was within reach of both Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick in points.
Elliott just needed to deliver a better performance than his fellow drivers to win the regular-season championship for the second time in his career.
This did not happen. Elliott and the No. 9 team struggled mightily at Darlington Raceway. They were 19th at the end of Stage 1 and 22nd at the end of Stage 2. Elliott fell one lap down as the race progressed, although he was able to get back to 11th by the end due to multiple late cautions.
"We were pretty bad today, but we'll go to Atlanta, get things rolling in the right direction, and see where we end up," Elliott added.
On to Atlanta. See you in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/BCwcgy4FdZ
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) September 2, 2024
While Elliott didn't close out the regular season in the way he wanted, he has an opportunity to get the reset he desires. The first two rounds of the playoffs feature races where he has achieved success in his Cup Series career.
The first round, in particular, starts with Atlanta Motor Speedway. This is a track where Elliott has a win in the Next Gen era. The round continues with Watkins Glen, a track where Elliott won twice in the Gen 6 era.
The elimination race is at Bristol where he won the 2020 All-Star Race. Elliott has also finished eighth or better in three Next Gen races at the short track.
The Round of 12 starts with Kansas, a track where Elliott won in 2018. He is currently on a three-race top-10 streak at the intermediate track. After Kansas is Talladega, where he has won two Cup races. This includes the 2022 playoff race.
The Round of 12 ends with the Charlotte Roval, a track where Elliott won playoff races in both 2019 and 2020.
Past success indicates Elliott could be a factor during the first two rounds of the playoffs. After that, he would be set up to contend for a return to the Championship 4.
Granted, past success doesn't mean that the No. 9 team will suddenly go on a Tony Stewart-esque playoff run after struggling with consistency to close out the regular season.
Locking up five wins in the final 10 races is simply much harder to do in the Next Gen era when cars are closer in terms of performance and teams have fewer opportunities to make big changes.
"Man, I have to figure something out here," Elliott said. "It's been a struggle. But nonetheless, I'm excited to get these next 10 races started.
"There are some good tracks in there for us, so I'm excited to get to those and try to make the most of the places that we've struggled at."