There are two ways at looking at what’s happened to Chase Elliott the past two races on the NASCAR circuit.
One, the optimistic way, is to think as well as he has driven he’s going to win a race soon maybe even as soon as Wednesday night back in Charlotte for the Alsco Uniform 500.
Or, the not so optimistic way, is to think Elliott is just jinxed or cursed and is never going to win a race again.
Two races ago at Darlington, Elliott was in second place and ready to challenge eventual winner Denny Hamlin for the lead with 28 laps to go when he was clipped by Kyle Busch, spun into the wall, and out of the race.
Sunday night in the Coca Cola 600, Elliott looked like a winner, and a great redemption story, when a late caution followed by a pit stop cost him the race won by Brad Keselowski.
Maybe his luck changed Tuesday night when he beat Busch to win the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 in a Gander Trucks race.
Through seven races this season, Elliott has three top fives, four top 10s and his 241 total points place him fourth in the overall standings. He is looking for his first circuit win, however.
Will that happen Wednesday night? One of the Eckel 3, which as always includes Scott “Tobacco Road’’ Baker and Mike “Left Turn’’ Sweeney thinks so. Here are the trio’s selections. The odds are courtesy of Parx Online Casino Sports Betting.
Kyle Busch (7-1): Busch is also looking for his first win of the season and “Tobacco Road’’ thinks it comes here Wednesday night. He’s been in the top 5, four times, so he is likely to be in the mix.
Kevin Harvick (10-1): Those odds are too good to pass up for the current points leader and the only driver to be in the top 10 in all seven races this season. He also has three wins in Charlotte on his resume.
Chase Elliott (11-2): “Left Turn’’ the eternal optimistic is giving Elliott one last chance to show he can finish a race in Victory Lane.
Martin Truex Jr. (5-1): The New Jersey native is the favorite for a reason. He’s raced better since the return and he’s won three times in his new home, Charlotte.
Alex Bowman (15-2): “Tobacco Road’’ and I agreed that you can’t overlook Bowman this week. He’s raced well all season as evidenced by his third place overall in the standings.