Chase Elliott Eyeing Kyle Busch’s Record as He Vows to Make a Comeback for 2026 Championship

Since Chase Elliott won his first Cup Series title in 2020, he hasn’t been able to repeat the same pace in the past few years. Sure, he does win races at Hendrick Motorsports every season, but racing for a top team requires more than that. Though last year was better than 2024, it was still far from his best. But with the new championship format looking to shake up the game, Elliott is hoping to join a rare league of NASCAR champions.

Chase eyes a Chase record

Chase Elliott’s 2026 championship bet will put him in a race where drivers are contending for more than a win. NASCAR’s decision to bring back the Chase format has brought forth a new motivation among the younger drivers. Racers like Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and others have grown up watching the Chase format. When they race, these drivers will battle to win their first shot at the nostalgic racing they used to love as teenagers and enthusiasts.

If Chase Elliott ends up winning the championship, he will become only the third driver in NASCAR history to win a championship title in both the NASCAR formats–the Playoffs and the Chase. The wording for the new Chase might be slightly different, but it echoes the same emotions as its earlier iteration. Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch are the only drivers who have achieved this feat in NASCAR as of 2026.

While reviewing his 2025 season, Elliott said, “I really didn’t feel like our performance got to its peak until probably the last month or month and a half of the season. That’s when I felt like, ‘Hey, we’re leading some laps and just more competitive and giving ourselves more opportunities.’”

Chase Elliott was able to regain his mojo in the 2025 championship. But by the time he was winning races, it was already too late. Elliott finished P8 in the championship in 2025 with two victories to his name. In theory, he finished worse compared to 2024’s P7, and the number of points was less. However, there is a key difference between the two seasons; this time around, Elliott was able to win multiple races and lead more laps. This shows that slowly, Elliott is coming back to winning ways with more speed and better racing.

It seems like he is realizing the same when he says, “It’s more about putting yourself in position consistently and every week than it is the actual win. You’re going to get your turn. You will get your opportunity. It’s not always going to work out for you. … But if you put yourself there often enough, it will, and that’s more of what I want to see and what our definition of being in form is.”

Talking about consistency, Elliott’s observations are spot on. The newest version of the NASCAR postseason, a revamped Chase format, is all about the rewards that come with consistency. So if Elliott manages to bring forth the performance that he is promising himself, then he will automatically become one of the better-prepared drivers of 2026.

But Elliott is not the only one who has high expectations for himself. His team boss is also looking forward to the upcoming season.

Jeff Gordon draws undeniable parallel for Chase Elliott

The Next Gen car really put Chase Elliott on the back foot throughout the previous years. The three wins in two seasons are meager compared to the 18 wins in five seasons he racked up until 2022. So Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports co-owner and a four-time Cup Series champion, had a clear message for him going forward.

“More engaged, stepping in, elevating the team, the information he’s bringing and really feeling like this is home for him,” Gordon said. “I tell him all the time, ‘You’re a franchise guy. This team is your team.’ He and Alan have a very powerful relationship. Alan is an incredibly talented guy, and I think sometimes it just takes getting all the right pieces in place at the right times.”

Carrying the Elliott name also adds a unique pressure to perform compared to other drivers. Bill Elliott was a well-known and respected NASCAR driver. While Chase Elliott has won a championship, he wouldn’t want to leave the sport with dismal final seasons. Gordon understands this and is ready to back him up as his championship-winning driver.

“I was very impressed with what they did last year. I think it was a new look and perspective of their commitment to one another, to what they need to do, the details of what it takes to push yourself, push the cars and what our competitors are doing.”

“When you put a race like that together, and you do that over enough races, it builds confidence,” Gordon said. “And when you have the final race of the season go like that, even though you’re not in the championship hunt, you build on that over the offseason.”

Just like his teammate Alex Bowman, Elliott needs to put his past behind him and bring out the pace necessary in order to run at the front of the field again. Do you think he will manage to make a difference in 2026?