- Elliott winless in 2025 despite top-five consistency
- Edwards cautions that points alone may not secure a playoff spot
- Elliott confident a win is close as series heads to Atlanta
Chase Elliott’s solid form in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series hasn’t included a trip to Victory Lane — and that could become a serious problem.
Although the Hendrick Motorsports driver sits fifth in the overall standings, NASCAR’s playoff format prioritises race winners. Should 16 different drivers win races before the regular season ends, Elliott’s winless run could leave him on the outside looking in.
NASCAR veteran Carl Edwards, who narrowly missed out on a Cup title during his career, offered a word of caution. “He’s a winner, he’s a champion. He wants to be in Victory Lane. That interview tells me that,” Edwards said. “It’s so tough because consistency in the history of the sport is so important. But right now, as we talked about that cut line, 160 (points) might not be enough.”
Elliott has strung together a strong season on paper, with nine top-ten finishes so far, including back-to-back top-fives in Mexico City — won by Shane van Gisbergen — and at Pocono, where Chase Briscoe took the victory. Still, he knows a win is what ultimately matters.
“I think so. When I look at today, I feel like we were just right there, one little adjustment away from being right with Ryan (Blaney) and Denny (Hamlin), I felt like,” Elliott said when asked whether a win feels close.
“I feel like it’s all well within reach, we’ve just got to piece it all together at the same time. It’s hard to be mad about top-fives. It’s not what we’re after, but certainly looking for more.”
After finishing 30th at Pocono, Elliott acknowledged that mistakes on track — particularly in Turn 3 — cost him a better result.
“I think we’ve been capable of doing that in other weeks, so I’m not surprised by it, truthfully (back-to-back top fives),” he added. “At the same time, it’s not what we’re here to do either, so just got to be a little better. I was really proud of the effort from where we were yesterday. We missed pretty bad yesterday.
“So to get our NAPA Chevy back, just in contention, and really gave ourselves a shot… I thought (turn) three was my weak point, I just never could get comfortable over there, and especially late in the run, just made too many mistakes. It was a solid day, not what we’re after, but on to Atlanta.”
Elliott’s next opportunity to lock in a playoff berth comes at Atlanta Motor Speedway — a race that could prove decisive if the list of 2025 winners continues to grow.
