Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Chase Elliott heads to best track after first Cup win

rZrqPhzIqKVG
Chase Elliott's win at Watkins Glen was huge for the sport and his career, but has he suddenly become the face of NASCAR?

Chase Elliott couldn’t have asked for a better track to come immediately after he earned his first Cup win.

That track is Michigan International Speedway, the 2-mile facility that hosts Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).

The Hendrick Motorsports driver has yet to have a bad race in five starts Michigan. He’s had winning runs ruined by bad restarts late in races, but no bad races.

His first three Michigan visits ended in runner-up finishes. That matches Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Martin Truex Jr.'s number of second-place finishes at MIS before a win. Gordon is the only one of those who has a Michigan win.

Elliott has also yet to finish outside the top 10 at Michigan.

According to Racing Insights, Elliott is third on the list of drivers in number of Michigan starts prior to their first finish outside the top 10. Cale Yarborough and Buddy Baker have the most with six.

Elliott has led 66 laps at Michigan, but those all came in his first two starts.

Elliott has the best all-time average finish at Michigan at 4.6. That’s ahead of Sam Sommers (sixth, two starts), Carl Edwards (9.4 in 25 starts) and Cale Yarborough (9.61 in 36 starts).

Among active drivers, Erik Jones has the second best average finish at 10.33 in three starts.

Sunday also marks Elliott’s 100th Cup Series start. Should he finally claim a Michigan win, he’d be the sixth driver to win in his 100th start.

Screen Shot 2018-08-09 at 4.56.15 PM

Elliott would also be the fifth driver in Cup history to earn his first and second wins in consecutive races.

Screen Shot 2018-08-09 at 4.56.30 PM