From being the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott could only finish fourth in the 2021 season.
2020 was an extraordinary season for Elliott. While he always had the talent, but he was not a finished product. But he defied all odds en route to the championship title, where he was the least favorite to win it. In fact, it was his first appearance in the Championship 4 race.
Elliott kept his standards in the 2021 season and managed to book a spot for the title-deciding race. Recently, the Hendrick Motorsports driver compared the two seasons.
“I try to have fun. I feel like I try to be laid back and just kind of be myself. Love it or hate it, I’m just kind of me and I try to do a better job of just enjoying all the moments that come along. I recognize that none of this stuff’s forever and I’m in a super, super, super fortunate position to do what I do. Travel the country and race cars for a living, and just when you sit back and really look at just the grand scheme of life. What I’m doing versus what I could be doing, you just have to put it in perspective sometimes.”
It was his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson that won the championship in spectacular fashion, not as an underdog like Elliott but as a contender.
Given the performances of the past seasons and the versatility the HMS driver has shown, he will be competing for titles for years to come.