By Jeff Wackerlin, MRN.com | Tuesday, December 22, 2020
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Elliott has made the playoffs in each of his five full-time seasons in the Cup Series with his previous best points finish being fifth in 2017.
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Along with his win total, Elliott posted career-best numbers in top fives (15), top 10s (22) and laps led (1,247) in 2020. He also led the series in number of laps while running in the top 15 (8,412).
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Elliott followed up his second-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway with his first win of the season four days later in a return to the 1.5-mile track.
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Elliott became the 25th different driver to win the NASCAR All-Star Race when it was held in July at Bristol Motor Speedway. It marked only the second time in the history of the event that it was not held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Elliott’s NASCAR Hall of Fame father, Bill, won the other when it was contested in 1986 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
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The second points-paying win of the year for Elliott came in the Cup Series debut at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course after leading a race-high 34 laps.
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Elliott ranked second in stage wins (10 for the whole season) with six coming in the regular season. Twice in 2020, he won the opening two stages — in February at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and in May at Bristol Motor Speedway. A flat tire and a late-race crash, respectively, took him out of contention in both events.
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Elliott entered the postseason as the fifth seed with 20 playoff points.
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Elliott made it to the Round of 8 for the fourth consecutive season with his win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. The victory marked his fourth consecutive at a road course dating back to Watkins Glen International in 2019.
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Elliott advanced to the Championship 4 for the first time when he took the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway. He led 236 of the 500 laps and came into the event 25 points below the cutline.
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Scheduled to start on the pole, Elliott was forced to drop to the rear of the field for the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix after his No. 9 Chevrolet failed pre-race inspection twice. When the green flag flew, Elliott quickly made his way to the front and was in the top 10 by Lap 26.
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Elliott led a race-high 153 laps at Phoenix on his way to scoring the race win and the championship. He also became the seventh driver to win the final two races of a season.
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The Elliotts became the third father-son combination to win a Cup championship, joining Lee and Richard Petty along with Ned and Dale Jarrett. Bill won the title in 1988.
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Elliott: “Alan Gustafson (crew chief) is now a NASCAR Cup Series champion, and very deserving. I just can’t say enough about our group. I felt like we took some really big strides this year.”
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On Nov. 18, Elliott was announced as the National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver in the Cup Series for the third consecutive year. He became the seventh driver to take home the award and the championship in the same season with his father being the previous to do so in 1988.
