Chase Elliott needs a win Sunday to stay in the playoffs and spoke with us about the pressures of that situation and more.
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The NASCAR Playoffs head to Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC) as the final race before the playoff bracket gets cut from eight drivers to four as they work their way towards Homestead.
Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Harvick have all punched their tickets, leaving five drivers racing for one spot, with a win as the only way to assure themselves continuing in the playoff hunt. Among those still alive but in need of a win in Phoenix is Chase Elliott and the 24 team, who come into this week seventh in points.
Elliott spoke with UPROXX Sports this week about the pressure of going into a must-win event as well as the changing dynamic in NASCAR with a new generation coming in and his number change coming next year.
Big week in Phoenix coming up with the last chance to get into the Championship 4. How do you handle kind of the pressure coming into a race knowing that a win is pretty much what you need to stay in the playoffs and is there any change in approach when you have a must win situation?
Yeah, I mean, we know our situation, we know what we have to do. So, you know, our job is definitely not easy, but at least we know what’s gotta happen. So we don’t have to play the numbers game, we just gotta go and try to get a sticker.
