By: Ashley McCubbin

With last season not going as planned, one of the initial questions to be asked to Chase Elliott upon arriving at Daytona International Speedway was obvious – what are some reasons for the lack of performance in 2023?

As has come to be expected with the Georgian, he kept his answer simple in replying, “I just think I have some bad habits that this car doesn’t like, and I have to address it ultimately.” He also did not elaborate when asked, stating those are “things that are talked about behind closed doors.”

After having five consecutive multi-win seasons with a championship in 2020, Elliott failed to score a victory in 2023 with just seven top-five’s and 15 top-10’s through the season. He also failed to make the playoffs, due in part to both performance and missing races for a leg injury.

As someone who is always under the microscope to perform in being the sport’s most popular driver, everyone will be watching to see if he can turn things around this year. A change in the tide is only amplified in knowing his teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron both made the playoffs in 2023.

“There is a sense of a new opportunity and I’m appreciative of that,” he said. “There’s also realistic understanding that your problems don’t disappear because of the calendar change from ’23 to ’24. We know that we need to be better, and I need to be better, and intend on continuing to build on what we were working on at the end of last year, and just keep our heads down and keep pushing.”

With eyes focused on a better 2024 season, Elliott spent a good bit of time in the shop through the off-season, and feels the No. 9 team is in a good place right now despite the concerns surrounding performance.

“When you have a year like last year, it is really easy for a team to blow up from the inside,” he commented. “Really easy. You don’t know how easy. When I look at where our team is at mentally, our drive and our will, and our willingness to fight and not quit, I think it’s at an all-time high to be honest with you. My relationship with Alan (Gustafson) is as good as it’s ever been. I’m just super proud of those things regardless of how the season goes, because I work with a group of guys who don’t want to give up on me. I don’t want to give up on them. That, to me, means a lot when you go to war every week that have no desire to quit. It speaks volumes. That, in my opinion, is a huge hurdle in trying to get back to where we think we can be and where I feel where we belong.”