Was second Sprint Cup start a boost for Chase Elliott's confidence?
I think after what he went through at Martinsville for his first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup race, young Chase Elliott must be feeling a lot better after his race at Richmond on Sunday. He had a lot of things going against him that weekend.
First and foremost, he had never raced there before. The weather didn't help him any. He qualified 27th and finished 38th. It definitely wasn't the Sprint Cup Series debut he had hoped for.
I realize they probably picked Martinsville for his initial race for a number of reasons. It was on a weekend where he didn't have double-duty with his XFINITY Series car. Martinsville is obviously a place he'll have to race at twice next year in the No. 24 car. Finally, I would imagine they chose that race because of all the success Hendrick Motorsports has had at Martinsville, and they probably thought that might be a very good asset for the young man.
I see two sides to that decision, though. I totally understand picking some spots where the driver maybe hadn't run before, simply to get him some experience, but at the same time I want to sprinkle in some races where the driver can also build his confidence up. I have to imagine Chase left Martinsville with his confidence pretty beat up.
I think after last Sunday at Richmond, though, Chase left that track with his confidence level way back up. He finished fifth Friday night in the XFINITY race and then finished 16th on Sunday in only his second NASCAR Sprint Cup race. The next time we will see Chase in a Sprint Cup race will be late May in Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, and I think he will run well there, too.
