Over the past eight races, Daytona has consistently seen new victors emerge. Surprisingly, none of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers have managed to secure a win at the Daytona race. Among them, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, both HMS drivers, are currently striving to claim a playoff spot, which would mark the first time they miss the playoffs in the past six years.

Chase Elliott’s pursuit of a playoff spot has been a frequent topic of discussion. His goal is to secure victory at the Superspeedway and keep the playoff streak alive. However, the puzzle pieces don’t seem to be falling into place. Notably, despite his absence in seven races so far, Elliott secured six top-5 finishes. Yet, as the pressure of securing a playoff spot intensified, his performance gradually declined.

NASCAR insider takes Chase Elliott off the list of favorites

Following the recent Daytona race, the next round, consisting of three races in Darlington, Kansas, and Bristol, is on the horizon. This season, Chase Elliott was absent from the Bristol Dirt race due to a tibia fracture, but he secured impressive finishes of 3rd and 7th at Darlington and Kansas.

During the podcast JC’s Garage, the host and David Styles delved into Chase Elliott’s playoff prospects. They examined whether he could make a significant move and compared his historical records on those tracks. David Styles started,

“He’s not gonna make it and it’s not going to happen I know that he is NASCAR’s most popular driver(…) he’s just not going to make it I mean there is no consistency.”

Continuing his assessment, Styles added, “Even if he did make it, he is not going to get out of the round 16 because all those play-off points and stuff and going to reset, he has zero playoff points and he has had to win at, you know, Darlington, Kansas, and Bristol. Places where I mean he’s been good at Bristol before, he hasn’t ran great at Darlington in the past, and there are other teams that I think are better than his particular team at those race tracks.”

It’s worth noting that this season, Chase Elliott has only managed a single-stage win at Talladega, accumulating 60 stage points. In contrast, his teammate William Byron earned 8 stage wins, and Kyle Larson secured 3. However, a pivotal moment that sparked considerable conversation was the unfortunate mishap at Watkins Glen, where Elliott’s aspirations were thwarted by a fuel shortage. In response, the Vice President of Compilation for HMS finally addressed the real cause of the issue.

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Chad Knaus sheds light on the fuel fiasco that shook Chase Elliott’s race at Watkins Glen.

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Chase Elliott, a strong contender at Watkins Glen, faced a setback during qualifying, forcing him to start in 15th position. To counter this, his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, adopted an aggressive strategy, opting for an early pit stop on lap 17 to enhance their chances of victory.

Remarkably, Elliott managed to make a strong push, working his way into the top 10 by lap 23. The race appeared to be set for a two-stop strategy, but a miscalculation arose on lap 54. This led to Chase Elliott’s car slowing down and eventually coming to a halt in the middle of the bus stop. This unfortunate incident stemmed from a reported fuel shortage, sparking a wave of criticism against the #9 team.

Chad Knaus, speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR radio, remarked, “We know exactly what happened. And it’s unfortunate and you know, it’s awful to have that happen. Timing in life is everything, right? And it’s unfortunate that happened at that time.”

Knaus also highlighted Chase Elliott’s impressive second-place finish at Indianapolis. He expressed disappointment that the critical mistake unfolded at an inopportune moment, acknowledging the challenges of making such calls during races. He emphasized that they are dealing with these internal issues, aiming to address and rectify them.

READ MORE: Chase Elliott’s Failure to Make the Playoffs at Daytona Could Mark the Beginning of His End