Kenny Wallace reflected on where Chase Elliott ranks among his fellow playoff contenders right ahead of the upcoming Xfinity 500 race at Martinsville Speedway. The way Wallace saw it, the Hendrick Motorsports standout needed to win to keep his championship hopes alive.Elliott, who drives the No. 9 Chevy Camaro full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, is among the four Round of 8 drivers who are ranked below the cutoff line. His teammate, William Byron, who sits fifth in the driver standings with a 36-point deficit on the elimination line, is also in the bubble.Elliott’s other teammate, Kyle Larson, who is also a former Cup Series champion like Elliott himself, will enter Martinsville with a 36-point advantage on the cutline. "I can't wait. You heard it, everybody,” Kenny Wallace said on the Herm & Schrader Show (via X, formerly Twitter). “Martinsville is going to be exciting, and Chase Elliott, 62 points out...So no doubt he's got to win.”In 34 starts this season, Chase Elliott has amassed a pair of wins and led a total of 424 laps, besides logging 10 top fives and 17 top-10s. Next up for Elliott is the Xfinity 500 at the Virginia short track, where he has previously won (2020).Chase Elliott is a multi-time recipient of the Most Popular Driver award in the NASCAR Cup Series. His father, Bill Elliott, won it 16 times from 1984 to 1988, 1991 to 2000, and in 2002. Interestingly, former driver Kenny Wallace bagged that very title three times in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, which was formerly known as the NASCAR Busch Series.What Kenny Wallace said about Chase Elliott’s wild Kansas winWhen Chase Elliott logged a solid win against Denny Hamlin at Kansas Speedway, Kenny Wallace playfully viewed it as a battle between good and evil. Wallace’s comments surfaced through an episode of the Herm & Schrader podcast.Elliott had qualified fourth for the race, while Hamlin started from P2. The JGR driver dominated most of the race, leading 159 of the 273-lap event. But things took an unexpected turn when Hamlin made contact with 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace following the final restart.This allowed Elliott to clear the Toyotas and record his second win of the 2025 season. Reflecting on how the race ended for the drivers, Kenny Wallace drew a narrative. He even compared Hamlin to Darth Vader and Elliott to Huckleberry Finn“So Chase Elliott wins this thing, crowds on their feet,” Kenny Wallace said (00:16). “It is like Denny Hamlin is Darth Vader for Vader, right, and Chase is like Huckleberry Finn; it's good versus evil. They hate Denny Hamlin. And they love Chase."For now, all eyes are on Martinsville Speedway, which will host this coming Sunday's playoff event. The field for the final four contenders of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship will be set right after.