Chase Elliott enters Talladega the top driver in points without a win

And that’s simply because the 21-year-old third generation racer hasn’t lived up to his own expectations — or those of Hendrick Motorsports -- yet. 

Certainly, Elliott has had plenty of opportunities to win a race by now. After all, he inherited the No. 24 Chevrolet team along with crew chief Alan Gustafson and all the resources that accompanied his promotion. He’s finished second six times, including three of the last four races and as recently as last Sunday, when he was runner-up to Martin Truex Jr., at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“Obviously, you hate to run second because that means you were close to first, but hopefully we'll have our day sometime,” Elliott said.

But consider this, none of Elliott’s current teammates won their first Cup race before the age of 25 — not even seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who has an excuse. Johnson didn't run his first Cup race until he was 26. Elliott’s mentor, Jeff Gordon, was two months shy of his 23rd birthday when he won the first of his 93 victories — the 1994 Coca-Cola 600. 

Yes, we live in a society that rewards youth, which in turn fosters a sense of entitlement. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that youth is automatically rewarded without putting in the time and effort to accomplish a goal.

Elliott's journey to the No. 24

When Elliott won the 2014 Xfinity Series title at 18, his NASCAR progression must have appeared easy. He won three races, two poles and 26 top-10s in 33 starts as a rookie. The next season he lost his crew chief Greg Ives to the No. 88 Hendrick team and Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the NXS title by 15 points to Chris Buescher. Still, he continued to win and run up front. 

No one was surprised when Elliott was selected to replace Gordon in the No. 24 Chevy, after all, Hendrick had groomed him for that role. In his first five Cup races, Elliott didn’t set the world afire. His best finished was 16th at Richmond — one of two lead-lap results. His average finish was 26.2.

But Elliott’s rookie season was solid. He posted six top fives and 11 top 10s in his first 15 starts.  While he and his teammates hit a lull over the summer, Elliott easily qualified for the playoffs and finished in the Round of 12 before finishing 10th in the standings.

Entering 2017, consistency carried Elliott to second in the standings by the fourth race of the season. He dropped to third, then fourth and eventually seventh in the standings following four finishes of 24th or worse. His performance started turning around at Dover in June. With the exception of an engine failure at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Elliott has been charging forward ever since. 

Although Johnson had the advantage in the standings entering the playoffs after winning three races earlier in the year, Elliott had out-performed the defending champion in each of the first four races of the playoffs. With an average finish of 4.25 in the post-season, Elliott has the best results among the Hendrick drivers and two of the drivers — Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick — ahead of him in the standings.

Leading the way for Hendrick?

Does Elliott feel he can lead the Hendrick contingent in the playoffs?

"We feel like we can be that team if we all do our jobs right,” Elliott said. “I don't think we knew coming in we could run this well, and we can do it. If all things are clicking right, there is no reason not to. 

“Certainly to be among the top teams, or to be the top team, you are going to have to beat your teammates too. They count as well. I feel like we can run with them and run with anybody on a good day."

Hendrick Motorsports is banking on it. Last week during a two-day test at Martinsville Speedway, Gordon accompanied Elliott as a driver coach. Although Elliott has improved with every start at the half-mile track — and posted a career-high third in April after leading 20 laps — he still hasn’t found his comfort zone at Martinsville. With the First Data 500 kicking off the Round of 8, it is a pivotal race in the playoffs. 

“I was really looking forward to getting some laps, and I’m glad we did, but it was definitely still a struggle over those couple of days,” Elliott said. “I don’t feel like I found a very good rhythm. What I felt like I learned in the spring didn’t really seem to come back and work the same as it did at the test. 

“I think our cars are good. That’s not the issue. You just have to find a rhythm; it’s such a rhythm racetrack. We ran hundreds and hundreds of laps but unfortunately it never clicked for me. We learned some things, for sure. I had Jeff there trying to help me as much as he can, and I tried to lean on him for that. I hope when we go back that we will be prepared and it’ll work out.”

The unpredictablity of Talladega

As Elliott knows, there are no guarantees at Talladega Superspeedway either. Elliott survived with a fifth-place finish in his debut but wrecked in the spring. What Elliott has learned in his limited restrictor-plate experience is finding a dancing partner he can trust. 

“There’s definitely a lot of uncertainty as to what’s going to happen when you’re counting on the rest of the people so closely to not mess up,” Elliott said. “As I’ve done it more, you become more comfortable with certain people. Some people you’re never comfortable around but there are some guys that you feel better about or put more trust in to give them a harder shove. Or maybe they have a little more trust in you and want to give you a big push. 

“There are certain guys that I would do that to and certain guys I definitely would not do that to. I have learned that much – who and who not to from that perspective.”

Winning vs. consistency

In 2014, Ryan Newman advanced to the final four for the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway without winning a race — but no driver has accomplished that feat since. Does Elliott believe he can duplicate that run?

"I would rather have a W and not have to play that game, but you are going to go and push every week and if a win is in your future, great,” Elliott said. “That certainly is a huge help as we go through these rounds. As we all know, the win trumps everything. For us being at a deficit in the points as we start each round, a win would be the perfect scenario for us. 

“I think consistency will probably get you through this cut round that we are in. I don't know that you have to win to get to Homestead, but I would say you are going to have to run pretty dog-gone good, and you are going to have to have multiple chances to win if you don't to make it through with the rest of those guys."