CHARLOTTE, N.C. ā As he prepared for one of the hottest races of the NASCAR season, Chase Elliott said he would use positive thinking to convince himself it wasn't so bad.
And when Elliot was frustrated with his struggling Chevrolet in the early stages at Nashville Superspeedway, his crew chief found his driver receptive to a pep talk that helped NASCAR's current Cup points leader win Sunday night's race.
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Elliott has never presented himself as an eternal optimist, In fact, his Hall of Fame father Bill Elliott last year told The Associated Press his son āacts like heās loading up the covered wagon heading West instead of doing what he loves.ā
But the 26-year-old seemed lighter at Nashville and his mood more tolerant, even before he picked up his second win of the season. So as NASCAR's most popular driver heads next to Road America, where he won last year's Cup return after a 65-year absence on the Wisconsin road course, AP asked Elliott about his current mindset.
āI feel like my mindset tries to just stay in the realm of reality, it's always been my approach to just try to be realistic about whatever the situation is,ā Elliott told AP on Tuesday. āI do think itās important to have confidence in your ability and what youāre doing, but I also think itās important to recognize āHey, if I need to do something different, Iām not too set in my ways, not too stubborn to be willing to at least try to adjust to have a better result or a better approach.āā
When reminded of his father's remark a year ago ā a dig at Elliott's perceived negative attitude ā the 2020 Cup champion said he doesn't have a glass-half-empty approach. He acknowledged he's very hard on himself and has high expectations, but he's also an Elliott and his extended family was never recognized for their joyful attitudes.
Bill Elliott, despite winning NASCAR's most popular driver award a record 16 times, could be curt and dismissive. His brother, the longtime respected engine builder Ernie Elliott, was often short on words. To this day, the entire Elliott family still lives on family land in Dawsonville, Georgia, and no amount of fame or financial riches has changed them.
āLook, I grew up with my dad and Uncle Ernie and I know a lot of people donāt know them to the extent that I do, but theyāve done this stuff for a really long time,ā Chase told AP. "And theyāve seen how this stuff works and when you grow up in an environment that is so well versed ā itās not that theyāre not appreciative or donāt recognize how fortunate we are in our lives to call racing a living. I do think we have a very realistic appreciation for that side of it.
āI just at a very young age, I saw a very experienced reality of this world, and, you know, right wrong or indifferent, thatās just how I was raised and thatās just the viewpoint that I watched. It gives me a different approach than a lot of other guys in the series.ā
He said his relationship with crew chief Alan Gustafson is so strong because Gustafson understands who Elliott is ā Elliott used the word āpracticalā to describe his approach ā and is able to extract what he needs from his driver.
āMy goal is to always make the driver the weak link. If heās the weak link, then Iāve done my job, the team has done their job,ā Gustafson told AP about his pep talk with Elliott during Sunday's weather delay. āWith him, itās not an easy thing to do because heās a pretty strong link. So thatās what I try to do and what I tried to tell him: āWeāre done messing up and weāre going to get after it, so stick with us, bring your A game, all will be good.āā
Elliott spoke to his father on Monday about his Nashville victory and on Tuesday expected to visit with his uncle at the family shop in Dawsonville. On Wednesday, the die-hard Georgia sports fan will be part of a celebration of Georgia champions at the College Football Hall of Fame.
He treats each day the same and sees no changes in his personality of approach.
āSome days are gonna be really good and thereās some days that arenāt,ā he told AP. "If Iām talking to dad, or if Iām talking to Uncle Ernie at the shop today, our conversation is not going to be a whole lot different than it was last week. You know?
āItās just very, very straightforward, and I appreciate that.ā
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