Chase Elliott 'really proud' of strong close to '24 season

Chase Elliott finished seventh in the Cup Series standings and fell a round short of NASCAR's Championship 4 in 2024, an effort he scored as "probably a B, B-plus."

"I'm trying to grade that really honestly," the former Cup Series champion recently told NASCAR.com when asked to assess his performance in the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

Elliott, 28, recorded one win in the Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway in April, adding 11 top-five finishes and 19 top-10 runs in 37 starts. The win at Texas ended a 42-race drought for the native of Dawsonville, Ga.

Elliott reached the Round of Eight but finished second in a must-win situation in the Martinsville playoff race on Nov. 3. That was part of an encouraging stretch run that began with a runner-up finish at Bristol on Sept. 21 and included fifth-place showings in the playoff races at the Charlotte road course (Oct. 13) and Miami (Oct. 27).

"I am really proud of where we've come from and where we have been, particularly over the last few months of the season, and even more so over the last few weeks," Elliott said. "I just feel like we have a really good direction, I feel like I have a good direction."

The 2014 Cup Series champ's career trajectory is back on track after an eventful 2023 season saw him miss seven races, six after breaking his leg in a snowboarding accident and one for a suspension for rough driving.

For his offseason plans, Elliott said he might do some non-NASCAR racing, but he is also looking forward to taking a break before the 2025 campaign revs up in February.

"I think naturally you're going to think about racing, just because that's what we do," he said. "But I certainly intend to just get away, take some time, recharge the batteries, just like everybody in the room here."

--Field Level Media