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Chase Elliott Identifies Main Reason He’s Not Winning In NASCAR Cup Series

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Chase Elliott

Most drivers would love to be in Chase Elliott’s position nearly halfway through the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Sitting fifth in points with nine top-10 finishes that include five top-fives, Elliott is having — at worst — a solid year.

Yet Elliott — ever the competitor — is far from happy. And there’s a very simple and justifiable reason for that: He’s not winning.

The bigger question, though, is why the 2020 Cup Series champ can’t seem to find his way to Victory Lane. Turns out, Elliott is pretty sure he knows the answer.

Chase Elliott Points To Qualifying As Biggest Source Of Struggles

Chase Elliott will start Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) from the 15th position.

That’s about par for the course for Elliott in 2025 when it comes to qualifying.

While the Hendrick Motorsports driver has never been the world’s greatest qualifier since joining the NASCAR Cup Series full time 2016, going fast in time trials has been especially problematic this year.

Consider: In 18 qualifying attempts, Elliott has managed to land a top-10 starting spot just four times. So it’s little wonder that the second-generation driver points to qualifying as the biggest obstacle between him and a trip to Victory Lane.

“I think there are a lot of things that go into that,” he said. “It’s a little bit of everything, truthfully, but I think probably the biggest one is qualifying. You know, I think the qualifying thing is so important and an area that I have struggled in. No doubt.”

Being the veteran driver that he is, Elliott is quick to acknowledge that how well a driver qualifies affects more than just where they line up on the grid.

“Starting (green-flag) runs in traffic can just really dictate what your car drives like,” he said. “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. … 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. I think that is probably it.”

At Home In Atlanta, Hendrick Motorsports Driver All-In On Ending Drought

Chase Elliott is a native and resident of Dawsonville, Georgia, which is not far from the suburban Atlanta venue where the Cup Series will race on Saturday night.

So, obviously, there’s virtually no other track on the schedule where Elliott would rather put to bed his absence from Victory Lane that stretches back to April 2024.

Will Saturday night be his time? Elliott owns a single win in 13 Cup Series starts at his home track, and getting Atlanta Victory No. 2 — and Victory No. 1 of 2025 — is his singular focus this weekend.

Asked about his expectations for the race, NASCAR’s perennial Most Popular Driver offered a succinct response.

“I would like to go win,” Elliott said. “Pretty simple.”

Unfortunately for Elliott, though, winning a race has been anything but simple in 2025.

And qualifying, he believes, is largely to blame for that.

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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