Is Chase Elliott currently NASCAR’s best road course racer? Probably. In fact, he may turn out to the best road course racer of his generation.
But, at this time, I am unwilling to take the leap that moves him to greatest of all-time.
Over the next few months, and into the next year, you’re going to hear a lot of hype about Elliott’s road course prowess. He is currently just two wins short of Jeff Gordon’s record 9. There are still two road courses left on this year’s schedule.
That short sentence should tell you everything you need to know about hy hesitancy to hand Elliott the “all-time” crown. That’s two road course race left this year.
Jeff Gordon never ran more than two road course races in a year. Nor did Tony Stewart, who has 8 wins. So to compare Elliott’s win total with Gordon’s and Stewart’s is bordering on comparing apples and oranges. They had a lot fewer opportunities in their careers.
I’m not saying we should put an asterisk on Elliott’s win total; but let’s be careful when throwing around the term “greatest of all-time.”