Unsatisfied: Chase Elliott admits start to season could be better
Defending XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott has recorded back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the last two weeks, but the JR Motorsports driver is far from satisfied with his start to the 2015 season.
The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet said he was not thrilled with the team's performance last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The team did not run as well as they finished, so why lie about it?
"I think we were all pretty frustrated with how we ran last week. The result didn't really reflect how we ran last week," Elliott said Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. "We didn't really deserve to finish fifth last week. We got really lucky with how the caution fell and got our lap back there. We were all just frustrated. We were battling to stay on the lead lap and when you're battling to stay on the lead lap, that's not a good day."
Even throughout his 2014 championship run, Elliott was hard on himself and was often his biggest critic. After earning his first title in his rookie year, Elliott did not hesitate to say after the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway that he felt there were things he could improve on both personally and within the team.
However, just because the 19-year-old driver is hard on himself and always looking for improvement does not mean he is not having fun.
"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't having fun," he said. "From Day 1, I think that was something my parents put a lot of emphasis on, and the people I've always raced around, if you're not having fun, why come around? This isn't something that should not be fun or is boring to you or stresses you out. Sure, I'm competitive and I want to do well and I put pressure on myself. I think anyone that is competitive and wants to get better is going to be that way. Really our whole team is that way."
In his first season working with long-time crew chief Ernie Cope, the defending series champion says they have worked hard on improving communication -- before, during and after each event.
"What it's going to take to go get a victory is just putting together a complete weekend and just a lot of execution," he said. "The guys you're racing against have gotten better over the past year for sure. We know that and we're definitely up to the task to try and get better and one-up them."
VIDEO: Jimmie Johnson implores Jeff Gordon fans to give Chase Elliott a break
