Chase Elliott shares straightforward verdict about NASCAR championship format

Chase Elliott recently weighed in on the NASCAR championship format, which has been widely discussed for quite some time now. He said that he doesn't mind returning to the traditional points system after comparing it to the battle for the regular-season championship in previous years, which he thought had been “good and competitive”.

After 21 races, Elliott, driver of the #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, currently leads the standings with 702 points, 16 points clear of the runner-up, William Byron. His take on the format follows a series of debates regarding the playoff system after Joey Logano won last year's championship despite arguably not being the best driver on paper.

Explaining his take on the championship format debate, the 29-year-old Dawsonville native said (via Jeff Gluck on X):

“We've had a really good and competitive battle to the regular season (championship) over -- correct me if I'm wrong -- the last two or three years. It's really been pretty tight all the way down to Daytona. If you just take that as your sample set over the first 26 weeks, it looks pretty solid to me.”

Elliott thought crowning a champion mid-season with the traditional NASCAR points system is not a big deal, adding:

“The system would be just fine if you just had a full season. And if somebody runs away with it, so what? Let's celebrate the fact that somebody ran away with it, that somebody was just that good. Motorsports does not have to be like everybody else to be successful. And I'll stand by that til I get done.”

This year's season has five races left before the NASCAR playoffs begin. Chase Elliott is a frontrunner for the regular-season championship along with teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson. Denny Hamlin and defending regular-season champion Tyler Reddick are also in the hunt.

For now, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is scheduled for Sunday. The race will also host the final round of the In-Season Challenge, where the mid-season tournament's first-ever champion will earn the bragging rights and $1 million prize.

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“It sucks”: Chase Elliott's teammate on losing the lead in points standings

Last week, Chase Elliott took the top seed from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, after the latter crashed at Dover Motor Speedway. Byron argued that the race was tough, considering he was looking in good form for a strong finish before the crash.

On lap 393, William Byron was running in seventh when Christopher Bell spun while battling for the lead against Denny Hamlin on the frontstretch. The incident caused Noah Gragson to hit the wall and collect Byron, forcing them to settle for DNFs.

Speaking about the tough end to his race at the 'Monster Mile', Byron said (via Jayski's):

“Last weekend (was) a tough one. We ran basically in the top five all day just to get involved in someone else’s mess at the end. It sucks, but we have to move on and focus on Indy now.”

Chase Elliott (right) and William Byron (left) - Source: Getty

The winner of the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover was Denny Hamlin after he fended off his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Chase Briscoe, on the final restart. Alex Bowman crossed the finish line in third, followed by Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Elliott.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar