Drivers’ rage has always been a point of discussion in the state of the NASCAR superspeedways. The drivers of the elite stock cars that average around 5 mpg in a typical race, which can hit speeds over 100 mph downtown, have a hard time dealing with the local traffic on the road. As a driver, you can’t even come up with an impromptu strategy or keep up the momentum to run the race. The competition might turn into a lopsided game altogether. Chase Elliott, the celebrated Hendrick Motorsports driver, couldn’t let this slide without raising his voice. In a hypothetical situation, the 29-year-old breaks down his response as he joins MLB Network.

Elliott had a rocky start to this year, as he hasn’t yet scored a victory. Despite putting in all of his efforts, he saw his peer, Kyle Larson, win the trophy at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He stands at a lackluster 5 in the NASCAR Cup Series rankings. As Jeff Gordon said, he might have dealt with some long off-season frustration that got the better of his initial momentum on the racetrack. Quite a possibility! But Elliott doesn’t just have a tendency to fall victim to anxiety and frustration over long breathing spells; the car next to him during a race gets under his skin as well.

A host of the MLB Network asked, “When you are driving on the highways and someone is going 20 on the left-hand lane, do you want to bump? Put them on a wall? How do you combat that?” To this, the driver responded with a wide chuckle, “You know fortunately for me, I can get it out on the weekends, but I will say that I have been prone to getting frustrated on the highway, too, at something similar to that… I mean if you’re stacking up the left lane, it’s like just be courteous and get out of the way. It’s not. You wanna go slow? That’s fine, that’s right.”

Elliott has also vented out on how the lack of clean running affects his race car’s performance. The limited airflow and close proximity to the other cars can negatively impact the overall ballgame. In 2020, Chase Elliott stunned the world with his breakthrough opening. He stormed through the field at Phoenix Raceway to win the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. At 24, he emerged as the youngest Cup champion, breaking the record of Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon. The message was pretty clear! He subtly announced to the world that he’s certainly more than ‘Bill’s son,’ a common narrative that sped through his veins like a virus. But since the last five years, he had to repeatedly deal with this and let it all pass over his head.

It seems another statement win is much needed to break the stigma again.

Chase Elliott dismisses the frustration claim 

Heading into Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Chase Elliott has not scored a victory at a Cup Series race since winning at Texas Motor Speedway on April 14, 2024. But there was a palpable lack of winning speed from the No.1 team. With a 36-race winless streak currently under his belt, fans are not yet done with trolling him. They claimed that Elliott has totally lost the fire in him to embrace a win. Also, some said he gets a kick out of frustration with the Next Gen car in NASCAR. But guess what, the kid didn’t let the mud get jumbled in his brain. Rather, he found a good ground to clap back at the claim.

“I don’t necessarily find it frustrating… It does seem like we have a more consistent, widespread number of winners yearly since we’ve had this car. So, that’s been interesting to watch,” Elliott said in a recent justification for his frustration claim, at least when it comes to his car.

As he gears up to nail the upcoming race at Talladega, Elliott has a lot riding on him. Maybe that feeling gives him that extra ounce of energy to chisel out the best no matter when! Do you think he can do it this weekend?