Throughout his NASCAR Cup Series career, Chase Elliott has won a championship and 22 races.
However, early-season wins have historically been hard to come by for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. Until pretty much now, that is.
With his trip to Victory Lane in the most recent race, held March 29 at Martinsville Speedway, Elliott secured his earliest triumph in 11 seasons as a full-time Cup Series competitor.
And the fact that his first trip to Victory Lane came just seven races into the season was not lost on the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
How Did Chase Elliott React To Triumphing So Quickly Out of the Gate?
Scoring an early-season win, or any win in the regular season, doesn’t carry as much weight as it did leading up to this year. That’s because a victory no longer locks a driver into the playoffs like it did under the old championship format that had been in place from 2014-2025.
But a win is still a win. Not only does it inevitably mean a good points day for a driver and team, but it also boosts their morale and builds momentum. And those realities are best not ignored.
Especially when you’re Chase Elliott, a driver who typically doesn’t hit his stride until around the midway point of the season. So it’s no wonder that Elliott, NASCAR’s perennial Most Popular Driver, was keenly aware of the significance of winning so quickly. At least for him.
“Yeah, that was one of the first things I thought about,” Elliott said during his post-race winner’s press conference at Martinsville. “I was like, ‘Man, this is awesome. We’ve never done that.’”
Chase Elliott Encouraged But Still Sees Room For Growth
Given that Elliott wasted little time getting a win this year, the question now becomes what that win means for the rest of his season. Although the win doesn’t guarantee him entry into the playoffs under the new championship format, that shouldn’t be any major cause for concern.
In prevailing at Martinsville, Elliott moved up a spot in the standings and now sits fourth. He’s just 10 points behind third-place Denny Hamlin and just 22 points behind second-place Ryan Blaney.
Given that the top 16 points finishers at the end of the 26-race regular season will now all qualify for the playoffs, Elliott seems like a virtual lock to make it in. And based on the rapid rate (at least for him) at which he reached Victory Lane, he may be primed for his best season in quite some time.
Since capturing the Cup Series title in 2020, Elliott has finished no better than fourth in the standings. And from 2023-2025, he took the checkered flag running P1 a total of just three times.
Prior to prevailing at Martinsville, the Dawsonville, Georgia native had recorded only two top-five finishes in the first six events of 2026. He rolls off from the 18th starting spot on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, a track where he’s winless in 17 Cup Series starts.
“I know we still have a lot of room for improvement,” Elliott said. “Don’t get me wrong. But (winning was a) great way to kind of cap off this first stretch. A lot of good momentum for the whole organization, honestly, I think.”
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