By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
As a Sunoco rookie in his first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Chase Elliott has found the first two playoff races surprisingly “normal.”
Elliott comes to the elimination at Dover tied for ninth in the standings, 16 points ahead of Jamie McMurray and Austin Dillon, the first two drivers below the cut line.
But Elliott expects that, as the rounds of the Chase progress, the intensity will ratchet up significantly.
“I think the further you get into it, the more it is going to ramp up, for sure,” Elliott said on Friday at the Monster Mile. “Obviously, when guys are put in certain situations, their intensity is going to ramp up individually as you see, like last year. This race last year was a big race for that.
“I think a lot of it is situational, but, to me, this first round has been pretty normal as far as the races go and how I’ve seen people driving and whatnot. I feel like it’s been pretty similar to the races throughout the year. Like I said, I think if you make it further into the deal, it will ramp up, I’m sure. I mean it has to as you start eliminating more guys, and it gets down to a smaller group of people.”
