Just Sayin’: Chase Elliott’s Will Overcome MIS Mishaps

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Chase Elliott Shouldn’t Beat Himself Up

Sunday’s event at Michigan International Speedway was déjà vu all over again for Chase Elliott, who just like in the June race at MIS finished second after spinning his tires and losing the lead on a late restart. The only difference about this time was that the winner was Kyle Larson, a driver who like Elliott was seeking his first win in NASCAR’s top series. Chase, the son of 1988 Cup Series champ Bill Elliott, was understandably pointing the finger at no one but himself after his latest shortcoming. Let’s hope that Chase quickly moves on and forgets about both of this year’s Michigan races, however. He’s going to win plenty of races in the Sprint Cup Series, and it’s only a matter of time. After all, Jeff Gordon – that guy Elliott replaced this year in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – failed to win as a Sprint Cup Series rookie, and it’s safe to say he turned out just fine. Elliott will be, too.

Kyle Larson Gave NASCAR A Much-Needed Boost

With Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s future up in the air and his replacement at Michigan International Speedway being a driver who’s far from a household name, NASCAR arrived at MIS in desperate need of a positive storyline to hang its hat on heading into the final weeks before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The sanctioning body found that storyline with Kyle Larson’s first career top series NASCAR win – which threw a major wrinkle in the Chase standings with just two races left before the championship field of 16 is locked in. But even more important for the big picture is how the win could open up doors for others looking to break into the sport. Larson – who is Asian American – became first graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity to win a Sprint Cup Series race.