Big Blow for Chase Elliott: Just One Point Could Be Proving Dale Earnhardt Jr Right

A lot of suspense shrouded this weekend’s race at the Pocono Raceway. The fans of Chase Elliott saw some optimism in the way he had spoken during the pre-race interview, and surely, his performance this Sunday was not particularly lacking either. However, as the winner of the race Denny Hamlin had said earlier in his podcast, the #9 driver really needs to win a race. And he has not won one yet. In an episode of The Dale Jr Download, the 15-time most popular driver also talked about how embarrassing it would be for the 2020 Cup Champion to miss the playoff for the first time in his 8 full-time seasons of top-tier stock car racing.

As of last week, only 6 regular season races were standing between Chase Elliott and him winning one to make it to the playoffs. However, after this past weekend’s race, it has come down to 5. And so has Elliott’s spot in the playoff points standings. As Motorsports journalist Jeff Gluck recently tweeted some stats, it ignited a discussion on the internet.

Despite an impressive finish, Elliott is still not inside the bubble

One bad restart, one dangerous move, and one wrong step can result in a driver giving up 20 or even 30 points. Each seasonal race clearly proves that. After finishing 10th at Pocono, the Chevy driver does not look better off than he was after the last race. Looking at what Dale Jr had to say about Chase, one would assume that the HMS speedster would not make it into the list unless he wins a race. Moreover, his chances of making it to the playoff on the basis of points don’t seem good. And this is something that was pointed out by Gluck too.

According to a recent tweet by Jeff Gluck, the defending race winner had fallen back by -61 after this weekend’s race at the triangular track. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is in a must-win situation to make it to the round of 16. The columnist for “12 Questions” said:

“Elliott currently -61 in points as they run. Came into the race -60.”

In the end, Elliott managed to earn 27 points, hence occupying the 21st place in the points table with a total of 399 points and five top-5 finishes. Despite Elliott not making a considerable difference in his position, and falling 1 point behind the already distant playoff mark, three NASCAR analysts shared their opinions on the 27-year-old NASCAR icon.

NASCAR experts still have their faith in surprises showing up at the eleventh hour

In a conversation with Jeff Burton and NBC’s Marty Snider, Steve Letarte showed his trust in the abilities of ‘The Golden Boy’ to change the game at the very last moment.

When Snider asked if Letarte still stands by his opinion that Chase could win anywhere, the latter admitted that Elliott hasn’t been the fastest. However, he also said, “I’ll concede that Chase Elliott hasn’t shown me winning speed, but I’ll also challenge you to tell me that the fastest cars won every week…. because I don’t think that’s true.”

“If you count that guy out…and the power of Hendrick Motorsports, I think that’s a major mistake!”

Steve still firmly believes that Elliott can make a comeback at the most unexpected hour. He could win at Richmond, Michigan, or even at Daytona; who knows?

“I’m just not in this bandwagon that says that he can’t,” he added, to which even Jeff Burton agreed. But Burton also mentioned that the team, along with Elliott, has to step up their game over the course of the next 5 races to prove them right.

Who do you think will Chase prove right: Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Steve Letarte? Will NASCAR fans get to witness the return of the old Chase Elliott in the upcoming races? Will he be able to step up his game and do the unexpected? Or will the NASCAR world see him miss the playoffs for the first time in 8 years? So many questions, all of which remain unanswered.

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