Chase Elliott Could Birth a Resurgence Arc As Relationship With Rick Hendrick’s on the Line

It is bad when you fail to make it into the playoffs being a full-time Cup Series driver. It is worse when your teammate does and you do not. And when you are the Golden Boy of Hendrick Motorsports, this failure takes a huge toll on the team as well as the sponsors.

This season has not been great for the number 9 Chevrolet sensation. He missed seven races in total earlier this year and has not been able to match the momentum that he had shown last year when he won the Cup Series championship. And being the team player that he is, Chase Elliott perhaps feels the need to make it up to his boss.

Desperate times call for desperate measures

When a driver is on a winning streak, everyone out there, including the sponsors, will chant praises in his name. However, the sponsors are concerned about just one thing, the return on their investments. If the driver that they are putting their money on does not fare well, they might as well revoke their sponsorships. And this is a dark side of NASCAR, as Kenny Wallace explained in his show.

On that note, the defending Cup Series champion might be in an uncomfortable position with his team. However, this is Chase Elliott we are talking about. He is the current holder of the title of “The Most Popular Driver”. Is it that easy for Rick Hendrick to part ways with this NASCAR superstar?

In one of his recent videos, Jeff Gluck explained why this might not be possible. He felt like Chase Elliott was motivated to make it up to Rick Hendrick. Although the fans will not care too much about the owner’s point of view, Elliott is a selfless person and he will probably take it as his own fault.

Gluck stated, “That team is going to make it as far as they can. That’s a lot of money for Hendrick and the longer he makes it in, the better Chase would feel about (himself).”

Watch this story: A Video of Denny Hamlin Confronting a Bitter Chase Elliott Fan Resurfaces After the Coca-Cola 600 Drama

“I think he cares about the team even more than himself,” he added, and even his friend Jordan agreed.

Fans lashed out at Elliott’s crew chief and urged Mr. H to fire him

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There is no doubt that Chase Elliott is a master of road courses. Naturally, his fans had high expectations from him at Watkins Glen. However, a bad pit call ruined Elliott’s day on lap 55. Elliott’s Chevrolet ran out of fuel and the tow truck delayed pushing his car back down the pit lane, resulting in a 32-place finish.

After Team Hendrick posted the results of how well their cars did at Daytona on Saturday, fans did not hold back in expressing their wrath.

Someone retorted sharply saying, “Fire Alan Gustafson immediately please and thank you.”

While another said, “9 needs a new CC.”

A fan supported that and commented, “9 needs a new crew chief asap”

Another HMS fan wrote, “I know there was a lot of mistakes from the No. 9 Team this year but please if there is any improvement I want to see happen is seeing Alan Gustafson getting replaced.”

However, William Byron and Kyle Larson are in the playoffs, and Hendrick Motorsports will definitely try to give their all to get these two cars till Championship 4. Someone left a comment regarding the same: “It’s all about getting the 5 and the 24 to the Championship Four. And also about getting Mr. H win No. 300 before the year is out. Would be a nice consolation prize if Chase is the one to get that one.”

Read more: “Feeling the Pressure”: Chase Elliott’s Desperation Increases as Hendrick Motorsports Improves, Leaving Him Behind