It's Wait 'Till Next Year for Chase Elliott as he fails to make the NASCAR Cup playoffs (see VIDEO)

Now, the #9 team must flip the page, knowing that Elliot’s race for a second championship is out the window. But there is still something to fight for the team and even for Elliot as the season transitions to playoff time.

Beyond the driver playoffs, Elliot did well enough in the car that allowed for the team to clinch its way into the owner’s playoffs -- just barely squeaking in -- but the opportunity to still bring home hardware is there, and Elliot shouldn’t shy away from that.

At the end of the day, the owner’s playoffs are truly what pay the bills, paying out higher than the recognized driver playoffs.

While this may be more of a team push to perform well than Elliot’s aspirations, being that it isn’t a driver championship opportunity, it is still a talking point and opportunity for Elliot to continue to push to at least grab a win and add points towards Hendrick Motorsport’s quest of adding another Owner’s Championship to its trophy case.

While he isn’t battling for the big driver prize, Elliot is approaching tracks that he has excelled at, such as Martinsville and even the Charlotte Roval, one of Elliot’s calling cards given his road course racing success.

Even though grabbing a win doesn’t truly affect anything in terms of points or standings, it brings one thing, and that is confidence.

Elliot’s season has been one that for a driver hasn’t been the best, but the chance to be able to add a win and change the vibe can truly help a team and their confidence, not only to finish the year but heading into the 2024 season as well.

No one may remember an Elliot win this season if the 9 car can get back to victory lane, but the chance for the Dawsonville Champ to right some of the wrongs he has endured in 2023 would be a weight taken off his shoulders and one that can propel him with a somewhat better taste in his mouth going into the offseason.

No matter what happens, Elliot will be someone to watch in the playoffs, not because of his hunt for a title but because of what his restructured goal will be to close out the 2023 season.