Editor’s note: This is the 23rd in a series in which we goodbye the top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in reverse order of the final 2025 standings.
Driver: Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Team leader: Alan Gustavson
Final ranking 2025: 8th
Key stats: 2 wins, 11 top 5, 19 top 10, 454 laps led
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How 2025 ended: Elliott qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the ninth time in his 10-year career, winning the Kansas Speedway in the playoffs in the round of 16 and earning six top-10 finishes in the 10 playoff races. Elliott was eliminated by one shot at his second championship, finishing third at Martinsville Speedway in the round of 16 finale behind Hendrick teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson, who both advanced to the championship fight. A 10th place finish in the Phoenix Raceway finale placed Elliott eighth in the final championship standings.
Best race: A passage from the last lap to EchoPark racing circuit (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) in June delighted a sold-out crowd and earned Elliott his second career Cup Series victory at his “home” track. Although it was a spectacular last-lap pass that won Atlanta the trophy, Elliott led 41 laps that day on the 1.5-mile course and ended a 44-race winless streak.
RELATED: 2026 Cup Series Schedule | Chase Elliott Driver Page
Other highlights of the season: The 2025 season marked the first time Elliott won multiple races since 2022. However, his best race statistically came with a sixth-place finish after leading 238 of 407 laps at Dover Motor Speedway. His top 10 finish in six races during the ten playoff races was certainly a sign that the No. 9 team was ready for a real championship fight. On three occasions, Elliott strung together three consecutive top-10 finishes, including an impressive playoff run at three very different sites; he scored fifth at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway one mile, scored a victory at the Kansas 1.5 miler and landed eighth at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
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Stat to know: Remarkably, Elliott’s final season stats beyond the two wins – his 11 top 5s and 19 top 10s – Exactly matching his 2024 production. His 454 laps led were his most since 2022. His average of 12.6 was impressive, considering his starting average of 16.1 was the second lowest of his career (17.3 in 2023).
Quotable: “The way I’ve kind of progressed through the playoffs this year is just fighting as hard as I can every week, trying to win me and our team three more weeks, and you never know what can happen in three weeks. … That can be the difference between someone who is mediocre or potentially on a hot streak or even a team that improves collectively over that period of time.” — Elliott talked about his strategy for the 2025 playoffs.
Looking to the future: The good news for Elliott is that his Hendrick Motorsports organization won its record 15th Cup Series championship. The bad news is that it wasn’t Elliott but his teammate, Larson, who lifted the trophy this season. A multiple-time winner for the sixth time in his career and first time in three years, Elliott and Alan Gustafson, his longtime crew chief, ended the year optimistic about their progress. Elliott has led the most laps since 2022 and advanced to the round of 16, all positive progress for a former series champion who enters each year hoping to win another trophy and shows up on the grid with all the resources to do so.
