Chase Elliott looked like he was stuck in neutral for most of last season. Then something clicked. The No. 9 driver didn’t just find his groove again; he turned consistency into an art form. What happened next was a record that nobody saw coming, yet perfectly captures what makes Elliott one of NASCAR’s most reliable stars.
Chase Elliott’s Latest Record Was a Testament to His Consistency
Elliott started the 2024-25 campaign on shaky ground, but quickly found his rhythm and hasn’t looked back since. The Hendrick Motorsports driver grabbed his first top 5 finish of the season at CoTA and has built momentum from there.
The numbers tell the story of his turnaround. Elliott has notched six more top 5 finishes since CoTA and has collected 12 top 10 results overall. His breakthrough moment came at Atlanta, where he snapped his winless streak and locked up his playoff spot in one satisfying afternoon.
Beyond the victories and strong finishes, Elliott has been a points-scoring machine all season long. He sits second in the championship standings, trailing leader William Byron by just 18 points heading into the final stretch.
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While preparing for his Watkins Glen race, Elliott accomplished something that had never been done in Cup Series history. The achievement wasn’t flashy or headline-grabbing, but it perfectly showcased what separates elite drivers from the rest of the field.
A NASCAR data enthusiast on X recently posted a table that caught everyone’s attention. The chart ranked drivers by “Fewest Laps Not Completed Through 23 Races,” and Elliott dominated the list in unprecedented fashion.
The No. 9 driver claimed both the top two spots on the chart. His 2024-25 season performance earned him first place, while his 2024 campaign landed him in second. By topping the consistency rankings for two consecutive years, Elliott became the only Cup driver in history to achieve this feat.
For the second straight season, Chase Elliott has completed all but one lap in the first 23 races.
He is the only driver in Cup Series history to accomplish this. pic.twitter.com/ClYAhetCk8
— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) August 8, 2025
The rest of the top 10 shows just how rare Elliott’s achievement really is. Matt Kenseth grabbed third place with two incomplete laps from his 2003 season. Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick followed with two laps each in fourth and fifth place.
NASCAR legend Tony Stewart landed in sixth place, having missed three laps during his 2009 campaign. Kyle Busch took seventh place with four incomplete laps in 2019, while Denny Hamlin matched that count to eighth place.
The final two spots went to Joey Logano for his 2019 performance and Austin Dillon for his 2021 season, both drivers having five incomplete laps.
Elliott’s reliability record might not directly boost his points total, but it reveals the foundation of his championship-caliber season. Staying on track means avoiding the big crashes and mechanical failures that derail playoff hopes.
With his playoff berth already secured, Elliott sits in a prime position for a title run. His second-place standing in the points table, combined with three remaining regular season races, gives him plenty of opportunities to build momentum heading into the postseason.
The technical precision that earned Elliott his consistency record also positions him perfectly for the playoff grind. As the regular season winds down, the No. 9 driver has both the speed and reliability to maximize his points haul and enter the playoffs as a legitimate championship contender.