Chase Elliott was touted as the strongest contender for this season’s championship at the beginning of the year. Last year’s regular season winner advanced to the final 4 race at Phoenix in 2022. No one anticipated that the #9 car would not even qualify for the playoffs this year. But inconsistent performances and an off-track accident made this an unfortunate reality for Elliott fans.

Thankfully, they still got an opportunity to see his Chevrolet Camaro in the ongoing playoff races. It takes discipline and strength to push oneself through the rest of the season without the inducement of a championship trophy. This was evident in Elliott’s improved performance at the Kansas Speedway this weekend. However, Kansas runners-up Denny Hamlin provided another reason involving Elliott’s team owner Rick Hendrick.

23XI owner Denny Hamlin hints at Rick Hendrick’s involvement in Chase Elliott’s playoff performance

Denny Hamlin is carrying a diverse portfolio during this playoff. The ace racer displayed impressive skills at both Darlington and Kansas. The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver would now prepare to conquer Bristol this weekend. Simultaneously, both drivers of his 23XI Racing team are challenging him in the driver’s standings. In fact, falling short of a Kansas victory to his #45 driver, Tyler Reddick, would only be a source of pride for team owner Hamlin.

Naturally, Hamlin possesses a unique insight into the measures taken to build team relationships as a driver and an owner. Particularly when Elliott’s team Hendrick Motorsports was still in contention for the owner’s championship. Drawing from his own experience, Hamlin surmised distinct rewards in Elliott’s driver contract.

Hamlin elaborated upon it in his podcast, ‘Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin’. He said, “They [Hendrick Motorsports] are still racing for the owner’s championship, which matters. And you don’t know, none of us know, in his driver’s contract right, does he, will he still get bonuses? And that is a factor in motivation for a driver. Will he get bonuses based off of where the car finishes in points? Coz that’s how NASCAR will pay Rick Hendrick, is how does that 9 car do?”

Hamlin further recalled Rick Hendrick’s flipped position last year. In the previous season, Chase Elliott qualified, but this year’s playoff contender, Kyle Larson, did not. Hamlin was certain that similar clauses were incorporated in Larson’s agreement to encourage him last year. Additionally, Hamlin himself restricted #23 driver Bubba Wallace from finishing lower than 17th for the sake of his team.

He continued, “With contracts nowadays, and especially Hendrick Motorsports, who had the 5 car [of Kyle Larson] last year be in the owner’s final 4, but Kyle Larson was not. They probably have some provisions in there to where it’s you know, wherever the car finishes, you get paid off of what the car does, not your individual, right? And so, we had that instance with Bubba [Wallace] this year at 23XI. You know the car will finish no higher than 17th in points this year, but Bubba can go and finish really high for himself.”

Watch this Story: Rick Hendrick’s Team Slip-Up Exposed by NASCAR World After Chase Elliott’s Bitter Misery

Luckily for Rick Hendrick, Denny Hamlin could see Elliott’s former skills emerging at the Hollywood Casino 400.

Denny Hamlin sings praises for Chase Elliott’s #9 car after racing at Kansas

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Chase Elliott started 4th in line-up and took the lead during Stage 2 of the race. Elliott led for 47 laps before finishing 6th at the end. Denny Hamlin found himself in the 5th place when the race began and drove next to Elliott for a considerable portion of the race. Hamlin later praised Elliot’s #9 car in his podcast.

He said, “One thing I did notice was that the 9 car is running better. They were up front most of the race. And I think that Chase is getting the most out of his car. I’ve raced around him quite a bit yesterday. And he’s wheeling it and getting all he can out of it, that’s absolutely sure.”

However, Hamlin could not place Chase Elliott on par with Larson’s #5 Chevrolet. Still, he observed a marked improvement in Elliott’s driving. And the JGR driver felt the same would carry forward with each progressing race.

Hamlin wondered, “Did it have the all-out speed that the 5 car had? Yeah, probably not. Again, I didn’t get to race much around Kyle either. He was upfront when I was kinda scr*wing around at 5th place at the early stages. But yeah, it looks like the 9 is starting to get better. And, I think that they’re going to be continuing to get better as the playoff goes on.”

Accordingly, Hendrick Motorsports could compensate him for each performance. The specifics usually differ from driver to driver. Therefore, Hamlin could only presume Elliott received additional concessions for his team’s standing.

He concluded, “Every driver’s contract is very different. So you just don’t know whether there is big bonuses in there for Chase if he continues to keep moving that 9 car through the playoffs.”

Read More: Chase Elliott Snubs RFK’s Dominance Before Conceding to Denny Hamlin and His Entourage