Chase Elliott missed the Championship 4 cut this NASCAR Cup season but was still a hero to many fans. He finished near the front more often than most and ranked second among full-time drivers, behind Christopher Bell, who led the series in the highest average finish.Elliott had zero DNFs in the first 24 races and just four finishes outside the top-25, all of which came in the second half of the season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver completed the 2025 Cup season with an average finish of 12.61, which was about 1.41 positions short of Joe Gibbs Racing's Bell, who also missed the title fight at Phoenix.Elliott collected 19 top-10 and 11 top-5 finishes, beating all Championship 4 contenders in consistency. Chase Briscoe's 12.67 average finish was close behind.Elliott also took home the Cup Series' Most Popular Driver Award for the eighth time in a row. However, he still has eight more awards to match his father, Bill Elliott's record of winning the same honor 16 times."I'm ever satisfied even on those good days" - Chase Elliott on 'always looking for more'Chase Elliott snapped a long drought with a dramatic late pass at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. He added a playoff win at Kansas in late September, which sent him into the Round of 8. But after getting involved in a huge crash at Talladega Superspeedway, the 29-year-old needed a win at Martinsville to make the Championship 4.Elliott could not move ahead to the final playoff round and finished third at the Paper Clip in Virginia after teammate William Byron won the elimination race. The 2020 Cup champion also won the Cup series' first exhibition race, the Cook Out Clash in February.During a conference on Zoom earlier this month, he talked about his 2025 season and shared his constant dissatisfaction with on-track results."There was a few high spots in there, which is always great. I think as a competitor, at least for me, I'm always looking for more. I don't think I'm ever satisfied even on those good days. I see so much potential in our team," Chase Elliott said, via NASCAR.com."I might not have the most positive way of looking at things a lot of days, but I also try and give credit where it's due, and also grade myself and our team honestly in those moments as well. We have a lot of things that we need to do better, no question," he added.Chase Elliott will start his 11th full-time Cup season next February at Daytona International Speedway in Hendrick Motorsports' No. 9 Chevy.