The struggle continues for NASCAR’s golden boy, Chase Elliott, as he once again falls short chasing the win at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 2023 certainly isn’t something Elliott or Hendrick Motorsports in general anticipated it to be. With the second leg of the Cup Series nearing its conclusion, Elliott’s winless drought continues to haunt the driver.

And after a rain-postponed race in New Hampshire, the HMS ace yet again failed to deliver the hype riding on him. Struggling to gain position, Elliott finished the race 12th with just Kyle Larson in the top-5 for HMS.

While the #9 Chevy was having difficulties gathering speed, several NASCAR enthusiasts on the other hand have turned up against the champ himself, calling it a “Driver issue.”

Winless drought for Chase Elliott continues as he misses out on a top-10 finish in New Hampshire

To put it in simple terms, this season clearly hasn’t been the best for Elliott or the HMS camp. Though Larson’s and points leader William Byron‘s wins have brought the team the necessary momentum, Elliott’s and Alex Bowman‘s unfortunate accidents have also left the team vulnerable.

Missing out on 7 races this season has got Elliott in a precarious situation, and he is struggling to land a clean playoff berth. The Crayon 301 just made things all the more nasty for the HMS speedster. Despite chasing his much-needed win of the season, Elliott has yet again missed out big time—this time, even missing out on a top-10 spot.

With the inadequate setup of the car doing its thing, Elliott fell short and not so long after, fans riled up, trashing the driver for his winless drought.

READ MORE: Chase Elliott Questions Own Achievement After Major Blow to Overcome His Embarrassing Slump on the 10th Attempt

Also, adding fuel to the fire is Elliott’s open remarks, taking it on himself. And following Monday’s race, fans had enough of this and expressed their frustrations vividly.

And with prominent journalist, Jeff Gluck tweeting about Elliott’s precarious position behind his teammate, Bowman. One frustrated fan even asked Rick Hendrick for a replacement,

“Chase has failed to qualify for multiple races this year, and with subpar performances, I think it’s time Rick Hendrick looks into a replacement for him. Someone like Matt Dibenedetto could be a weekly factor in that car, but the seat is wasted because of popularity.”

Whereas another fan wrote what most neutral fans have felt over the years. Though Elliott is a proper champ with a 2020 title to his name, his recent performances haven’t been the best, prompting another fan to turn in on him.

“Dare I say Chase is just not that good and might be just a tad overrated When was the last time he dominated a race flag to flag excluding super speedways or a road course”

While an ardent fan cried out his frustration, “It’s mind boggling and frustrating all at the same time”

Another user also highlighted the driver’s inability to gather momentum after the 2021 season, struggling with inconsistency, a fan summarized what we fans have been urging the driver and the #9 team.

“They’ve been scratching and clawing for good finishes ever since the end of summer last year. Something has to change. They can’t keep doing this.”