Chase Elliott, the star of Hendrick Motorsports, created a singular record following his Cup Series victory at Nashville Superspeedway.
After Ricky Rudd in 1991, the 28-year-old is now the first driver to finish in the top 20 of the first 19 races of a NASCAR season. Elliott, the previous winner of the NASCAR Cup Series, did not perform at his peak in 2023.
For the first time since making his Cup Series debut in 2016, the five-time winner of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award was unable to secure a single victory in the previous season and missed out on the playoffs.
Elliott’s struggle persisted until 2024. He had a difficult time controlling the racing pace of his No. 9 Chevy during the season’s early going, finishing only once in the top ten in the first six events.
But things took a turn for the better when the 28-year-old won the 276-lap race in April at Texas Motor Speedway, ending a 42-race winless streak. Elliott has had a strong run of form since that victory, finishing in the top five seven times.
His playoff spot has been guaranteed by these performances, which have also elevated him to the position of a potential Cup Series regular-season champion.
But Elliott’s most recent performance at Nashville Superspeedway wasn’t like his previous ones. The HMS driver came in eighteenth place after a record five overtimes during the rain-affected race.
Even with this outcome, his season-long performances have established a noteworthy precedent. Chase Elliott has joined an exclusive company that includes Ricky Rudd, who last accomplished this accomplishment in 1991, as the fourth driver in NASCAR history to finish in the top 20 in the first 19 races of a season with his performance in Nashville.
