The 2023 Cup Series season has been nothing short of a nightmare for former champion Chase Elliott. Missing out on 6 races due to a snowboarding accident, his comeback was later marred by NASCAR. The promotion put him under a 1 match suspension for an unsavory incident with Denny Hamlin at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. A string of poor performances later, the Hendrick Motorsports star currently stands outside the final 16 and faces a herculean task at Daytona to make it into the fray.

Confronting a tough situation, the odds of Chase speeding to the victory lane aren’t great. But in a do or die conjuncture like the one we have now, we might see the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro driver reflect some of his road course magic at the International Speedway.

Will Chase Elliott be the “modern” Hendrick Motorsports star?

Rick Hendrick owned Hendrick Motorsports is one of NASCAR’s highly valued and most successful teams. The North Carolina based team has accumulated 298 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. But the team’s admirable numbers do not seem as attractive coming to Daytona. In the last 10 years, its drivers have brought back maximum points from the speedway on just 5 occasions, and 4 of them came in the earlier half of the decade. With the team’s former Daytona heroes like Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr hanging up their boots a long while back, the big shoes left behind are yet to be filled.

Going into the weekend, Rick Hendrick will be looking at his 4 in-field cars to retrieve glory for him. Facing a must-win situation, Chase Elliott could very well end up being the “modern” HMS star who wins at Daytona. In the event that he does so, he will be gaining back points from Rick for the abysmal performance that he has put on all season. But with competition for the final playoff spot brewing even within his own team, the task might not be an easy one.

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Friend or foe? HMS teammates clash for win at Daytona

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While two HMS drivers, William Byron and Kyle Larson, have already powered into the playoff spots, the other two are hanging back at the cut-off line. 30 year old Alex Bowman will be battling it out with other drivers including Chase Elliott for the win. This happens to be a tricky situation for team owner Rick Hendrick. Even in the best possible outcome, he will see just one more driver from his side go through the line. The question is, if it will be Chase or Alex. Or neither.

Stakes running high, there is no saying that the teammates who have got it all on the line will be helping each other gain spots in the race. Rick, having been in the sport long enough, would definitely be able to empathize with the situation. In all probability, the 74 year old would say the same to his drivers and ask them to put themselves ahead of each other. Coming back from the disaster at Watkins Glen, Chase will be hoping to twist luck on its head and do everything he can to score the win. 

All eyes will now turn to the Daytona International Speedway for the final race of this year’s regular season. Watch Essentially Sports’ NASCAR page for further updates on the weekend.

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