Chase Elliott has found his feet again in the playoffs. After a terrible regular season, the 27-year-old failed to qualify for the playoffs in the Hendrick Motorsports #9. However, that hasn’t stopped him from going after every turn and corner in the last six weeks. With NASCAR arriving in Las Vegas, fans were expecting the ‘Golden Boy’ to come out with all guns blazing. But from how things have looked in practice, the ghosts of the regular season might come back to haunt him.

Elliott has been relegated to the back of the grid for the upcoming playoff race after losing control of the #9 Camaro in practice and being pushed back to a backup car. Although the 2020 champion has not much left to fight for in the race, following the crash, he showed remorse over the course of events after calling it a recurring phenomenon this year.

Tragedy befalls Chase Elliott yet again

From a tibia injury to a suspension for intentionally right-hooking Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott has found himself in polarizing situations this season. Although a win has still eluded him, Elliott has the second-best average finish in playoff races this season after teammate William Byron. He has pulled off five top-10s in six playoff races, with the exception being an 11th-place finish in Texas. Coming off such an improved run boosted his confidence a lot. But alas, a crash came his way in Las Vegas.

Placed in Group A, Elliott hit the wall with his rear bumper after running 14 laps. The 1.5-mile triathlon witnessed him burst his right rear tire, which slid his car in an unforgiving manner. Following the incident, Elliott cursed his luck in an interview with NBC, as he claimed, “Just cut a right rear tire I’m not sure. I had run 15 or so laps so maybe I ran too long. I’m not sure but yeah it was a bummer. I mean yeah, I knew it was a tire for sure. I couldn’t get stopped enough to keep it out of the wall unfortunately but kind of been that way all year.”

This also means that Elliott will have to start the race in the worst position he has ever had in the playoffs. He started 29th and 23rd at Texas and Talladega, respectively, and still managed to surge through to position P10 with relative ease. On another note, although Chase Elliott will be unable to make his points count for himself, he is still in the race for the owner’s championship. The #9 Camaro is currently 8th in the owner’s standings and 19 points behind the last spot for a championship 4 spot.

Read More: Chase Elliott Knocks Out Struggling Martin Truex Jr out of the Playoffs Leaving Joe Gibbs Scrambling for a Championship

What could Elliott salvage from 2023?

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In 2015, Chase Elliott was not a full-time driver for Hendrick Motorsports and was only allowed to run in a select few races. That was the last time before 2023 that HMS went into the playoffs without him as a competing driver. But the team didn’t lose it all thanks to their timely substitutes.

During the races that Elliott missed with injuries and a suspension, HMS replaced him with Josh Berry and Corey LaJoie, who brought in points for Rick Hendrick to capitalize upon. When the time finally arrived, #9 emerged on top of Bubba Wallace and #23 in the owner playoffs. So, does Elliott still have a championship to fight for? Yes, he does. With consecutive top-8 finishes in the first elimination round, he pulled his team into the next round and advanced comfortably to the round of 8 as well.

Watch This Story: Rick Hendrick Painful Confession After Chase Elliott’s Playoff Flop

Combining the scenario with Chase’s experience winning championships can pay dividends for HMS. Elliott has three consecutive championship appearances on his glittering resume as well, which will come in handy in their latest pursuit. This will also come as a relief for the humongous fanbase of Chase, who has been voted as the most popular driver of the last five years. It is great to see the former champion find his groove back after a season that must have been a negative phase for his mental strength.