PHOENIX — It’s been more than a decade since a NASCAR Cup Series driver won back-to-back championships, but Chase Elliott is hoping to defend his title — and bring another sports championship home to the state of Georgia.
The 25-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia native is pumped about the Atlanta Braves winning the World Series this week and his Georgia Bulldogs being undefeated on the gridiron so far this college football season. But as much as he wants to win his second NASCAR championship and continue his home state’s title-winning week, the No. 9 Chevrolet driver said he’s not feeling any added pressure either way.
“I’m just excited about it; it’s awesome,” Elliott said Thursday. “The Dawgs and the Braves are my two teams that I always pull for, and to see them having success is really cool.
“I feel like we can go out there and have a really good run. … I would love to bring another one back home and enjoy it with everybody.”
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Should Elliott win his second straight title Sunday at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC), he’d be NASCAR’s first back-to-back NASCAR champ since his former Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson did it in 2009 and 2010 — and that was the back end of a five-championship win streak.
But to defend his title, Elliott will have to finish higher than the other Championship 4 drivers: his teammate, Kyle Larson, along with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Winning the race is not a requirement to win the title, but the last seven champions have also taken the checkered flag.
In NASCAR’s first visit this season to the one-mile Phoenix track in March, Truex won, while Elliott finished fifth and did not lead any laps. Hamlin came in third and Larson in seventh.
Based on how the No. 9 team has performed through the first nine playoff races, Elliott said it’s “in a good place” going into the season finale. However, Elliott and his team have yet to win a postseason race this year and have just three top-5 finishes, compared with two checkered flags and four top-5 finishes ahead of the title race last season.
Still, Elliott said he and his team are “even more prepared” this time around but have a laid-back approach to this weekend.
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“We learned a lot about ourselves last year and really what we were capable of and how we could focus on the right things and go and ultimately get the job done,” Elliott said. “Having gone through that experience once, we can hone in on the things that matter most and make our car go as fast as possible and execute a good race.
“I think just making sure you’re focusing on the right things is really the most important piece of the weekend, and I feel like our group is very capable of doing that.”
And while Sunday’s race is the season finale with a giant trophy on the line, Elliott said his team’s prep and collaboration with the other three Hendrick Motorsports teams this week remained consistent.
“Obviously, the stakes are higher for sure,” he said. “The opportunity to win something is larger than it is on other weekends. However, the path to getting there is very much the same. A fast race car, good decisions, executing a really solid race. All those things are going to lend you the best result, and this year, this weekend, and this year, is no different.”
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