Chase Elliott reflects on big win at Texas: 'I'm truthfully most proud of the journey'

What a day for Chase Elliott. A chaotic race, stays out of trouble, and puts the No. 9 car back in Victory Lane for the first time in 42 races. NASCAR has their most popular driver back to his winning ways.

During this winless streak, a lot more happened than just losing races. There was the broken leg in 2023. Then the suspension after the Coca-Cola 600 incident with Denny Hamlin. Fans were wondering if Alan Gustafson needed to be replaced.

Today, Chase Elliott, his crew chief, and his entire team proved that they just had to get to work. Be patient. Wait for the right opportunity and strike. It’s been building for the last couple of weeks. P5 at Richmond, P3 at Martinsville, and P1 at Texas.

Elliott credits his team for not quitting, and for always making each other better. On the track and off the track.

“I think just our performance over the last month or maybe two has done more than anything,” Elliott said in the postrace press conference. “I mean, I think obviously these races are hard to win. They seem like they get harder, at least for me. They continuously get harder over time.

“One, I’ve just been really proud of our group for sticking together ’cause I’m sure a lot of you guys have been around the sport long enough to understand and know that when you have a couple bad years, a period of time that things aren’t going well, it is so easy to jump ship and to start bailing out on one another.

“I think that the win’s great, all that stuff is fantastic, but I’m truthfully most proud of the journey and the group of people that we have climbed back up together with,” Chase Elliott continued. “We’ve made each other better. They push me to be a better driver and a better person.

“I just feel like we’re all in a really good place, and we have been. It’s nice to see all the hard work pay off. Those guys really deserve to win. They’ve been busting it for a while, have been doing a really good job. That’s what I’m most proud of, is the journey and all of us sticking together at the 9 team.”

Here’s the video from Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.

Chase Elliott gives his thoughts on what the win can mean for his team beyond the playoff points and a spot in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/80ZzbF3Ox6

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 15, 2024

The winless streak is broken. Chase Elliott’s first points win at Texas in the Cup Series. The first win for Hooters since 1992 with Alan Kulwicki, complete with a Polish victory lap.

The son of Awesome Bill From Dawsonville can still drive a race car. His crew still knows how to win races. Will this be a watershed moment that leads to multiple wins this season?