Chase Elliott qualifies P13 in Xfinity Series at Pocono Raceway
Well, he wasn’t able to claim the top spot in qualifying, but Chase Elliott has a decent starting spot for tomorrow’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Going around the 2.5-mile, triangular race track wasn’t hard, he just didn’t have the speed. Elliott, in the 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy Camaro, will try to win from lucky number P13.
Some of these Xfinity Series drivers are the real deal. Josh Berry will be in the Cup Series next season, and he was the pole winner. Don’t let the secondary series fool you, there is nothing secondary about these drivers. Chase Elliott was one of the first few cars to qualify, and he was able to secure a top-15 starting spot.
Typically, tracks get faster as the laps go on. More rubber on the track for other cars to take advantage of. Elliott didn’t have the benefit of a later qualifying spot. He won’t be happy with it, but it could have been worse.
It is good for Elliott to hop in this Xfinity Series car with a different shifter and different drive style from his Cup Series ride, and come away with a decent result. We have seen some Cup drivers get in trouble swapping between these cars. He at least kept it straight and didn’t blow anything up under the hood.
Daniel Suárez tried to shift his Cup car like an Xfinity car earlier this season at Sonoma. So, good on Chase Elliott for keeping it all under control and not getting lost in the differences. He might use this Xfinity Series stuff to help him gain confidence for the race on Sunday.
Chase Elliott wants to give Hendrick Motorsports a win
Of course, Chase Elliott wants to win the race on Sunday. But before the HighPoint.com 400, Elliott is set on getting his Hendrick Motorsports No. 17 team a win. This car hasn’t had too many starts this season but it is Elliott’s turn to take the wheel now.
Before the weekend got started at Pocono, Elliott previewed the Xfinity Series start. He does seem excited about the chance to race against some of these Xfinity drivers.
“Hendrick Motorsports has been fielding this car a handful of races and they asked at the beginning of the year where our interest lied and at what tracks,” Elliott said, via Hendrick Motorsports. “Pocono [Raceway] was one of the tracks I was interested in and it just kind of worked out.”
Pocono Raceway has provided some memorable races. This weekend we have three races lined up and it should be a lot of NASCAR fun. Four if you count the ARCA Menards Series. Can Chase Elliott turn things around and win at Pocono, Saturday or Sunday, this weekend?