Elliott jokes, 'it's not you, it's me' about Darlington difficulties

Chase Elliott sounded like he was in a relationship with Darlington Raceway during his media availability Saturday morning, and right now, it’s one-sided.

“It’s totally me; it’s not the track. It’s me, not you, right?” Elliott deadpanned. “It is definitely totally on me and just the feel I need in the car, and it’s been a hunt to try to find that and find what I want.”

Elliott responded in such a way after being asked to expand upon his struggles at the South Carolina racetrack. On his otherwise impressive Cup Series resume, Elliott has not won at Darlington Raceway in the Cup Series with Hendrick Motorsports and has a 16.3 average finish. In 16 previous starts, Elliott has seven top-10 finishes with 151 laps led and four DNFs.

More NASCAR

Day captures first O'Reilly Series victory at Talladega

Chicagoland gets early thumbs-up as drivers get their first look at an old friend

A new era for NASCAR? Time will tell

Of the active intermediate racetracks on the schedule, statistically, Darlington is the second-worst for Elliott. Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Elliott’s average finish is 19th, is the leader in that category.

“I thought we had a nice week of prep and have a good game plan, I hope, and we can start practice on a high note,” Elliott said. “The Xfinity Series race -- it’s been a year since I’ve driven one of those things, and jumping back and forth, I always find to be a little bit of a challenge. So, I’m looking forward to getting going over there and hopefully, those laps will help me get comfortable with the racetrack and visualize things how I think they need to be, and then when we get out there in Cup practice, try to get going and going quick.”

The Saturday afternoon event is the only Xfinity Series race Elliott has been announced to run this year. He qualified the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet in the eighth position. Although his resume in the Xfinity Series at Darlington Raceway is shorter, it shows far better numbers, as Elliott has four starts and one win (2014).

Elliott was 21st in Cup Series practice on Saturday. He qualified 15th for Sunday’s Goodyear 400.

“I love Darlington,” Elliott said. “I just haven’t gotten it to love me back. Maybe this week; maybe I can talk it into liking me this week.”