Stubbs: When will Chase Elliott find Victory Lane again?
Going into Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Chase Elliott has not won a Cup Series race since winning at Texas Motor Speedway on April 14, 2024.
While he sits fifth in the Cup Series standings, there's been a noticeable lack of race-winning speed from the No. 9 team. With a 36-race winless streak currently on his back, here are the tracks on the schedule in the near future where Elliott could break through and snap the drought.
Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday
Elliott has turned into one of the best superspeedway racers in the field in recent years, which is reflected by his numbers at Talladega. Elliott is a two-time Talladega winner (spring 2019, fall 2022) and has eight top-10 finishes at the 2.66-mile track in 18 starts. A 14.6 average finish at a track as chaotic as Talladega is quite the accomplishment, and Elliott hasn't crashed out of a race at Talladega since 2020. He has led laps in his last five races there, and a drafting-style race could be what the Hendrick Motorsports driver needs to find his winning mojo again.
Texas Motor Speedway, May 4
Texas was the site of Elliott's last Cup Series win as well as his first Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series win in 2014. It's also been one of his better tracks throughout his Cup Series career. Over his first seven races at TMS, Elliott finished no worse than 13th. While the 1.5-mile venue hasn't necessarily been kind to Elliott in recent years in terms of results, the Next-Gen car has seen Elliott turn into a consistent front runner again at Texas. He led 44 laps in 2022 before crashing and finishing 32nd, finished 11th in 2023 and won in 2024 after leading 39 laps. Elliott may not be the odds-on favorite to win at Texas, but it would be surprising if he's not at least in contention for a top-five finish.
Nashville Superspeedway, June 1
In the four Cup Series races held at Nashville, Elliott has two top-five finishes, including a win at the 1.33-mile track in 2022. He finished fourth at Nashville in 2023, and while his other finishes -- 18th in 2024 and 39th in 2021 after a disqualification -- are underwhelming, Elliott has shown lots of promise at a track most of the Cup Series field is still trying to figure out. If he is still winless when NASCAR hits its summer stretch, Nashville could be just the place for the sport's most popular driver to break through as the dog days of summer approach.
Atlanta Motor Speedway, June 28
As previously mentioned, Elliott has become one of the best superspeedway racers in the field, an invaluable attribute at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the six races Elliott has run at the reconfigured 1.5-mile track -- he missed Atlanta's first date in 2023 due to a leg injury -- he hasn't finished worse than 20th. He won at Atlanta in July of 2022, and led 125 laps at the track between the two races held there that year. He only has one top-10 over the last four Atlanta races, but he has been able to bring his car home in one piece, which is the first step to winning a superspeedway race. Add in extra motivation due to Atlanta being Elliott's home track, and you have a storybook win waiting to happen should he still be on the schneid when the Cup Series rolls into the Peach State this summer.
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