“Had an Opportunity” – Chase Elliott’s Biggest Ally, Denny Hamlin Gives Up on HMS’ Golden Boy

Disappointment, disappointment, and more disappointment! Nothing more could better sum up Hendrick Motorsports star, Chase Elliott’s 2023 season run. Far from his 2020 championship-winning form, the #9 HMS driver has faced the brunt of the NASCAR world’s wrath. Owing to his poor performance, many veterans of the sport seemingly lost playoff hopes for Chase Elliott.

Handed another DNF at the yet-to-be-completed FireKeepers Casino 400 race at Michigan, Chase Elliott’s biggest ally, Denny Hamlin, has now given up hopes on HMS’ golden boy.

Chase Elliott forces Denny Hamlin to eat his own words

Sitting at the 20th spot on NASCAR’s Cup Series standings, Elliott was looking forward to gathering the much-needed points at Michigan International Speedway. But as has been the trend this season, Chase Elliott’s bad luck followed him all the way to Michigan. With Elliott bowing out of the race early due to a stage one wreck that left his #9 Chevy irreparable, Denny Hamlin was left red-faced. Last month, the #11 Hamlin on his Actions Detrimental podcast had appealed to Chase Elliott’s fans to band up in support of HMS’ golden boy. But Elliott’s Michigan incident now has the Joe Gibbs Racing driver eating his own words.

In the recent episode of his podcast titled ‘Emergency Podcast: Michigan’, Hamlin appeared to lose hope for Chase Elliott. “He (Chase Elliott) had a wreck, obviously not his doing. He blew a right rear there and he’s gonna have to win a race. I really thought that he could gain 6 to 12 playoff points on (Michael) McDowell, next thing you know, he’s down to minus 28,” Hamlin said.

The JGR #11 driver further added, “It’s not like McDowell’s been very good. I actually listened to Dirty Mo Dough, and they said that McDowell’s never finished in 20th here. He’s 27th. I saw him look at the front of his car when we got out, he was on the inside lane. I saw him looking at the damage on it. So, man, Chase had an opportunity, but again, it’s not on him. But it’s just super unfortunate that (Elliott) blew a tire there.”

Watch This Story: Chase Elliott Fails To Follow In His Father’s Footsteps

While Chase Elliott’s biggest ally was left biting his tongue, the 2020 Cup Series champion, on the other hand, held his head up high in the face of adversity.

HMS’ golden boy brandishes his unwavering attitude

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Teething on the edge of the playoff bubble, Chase Elliott was unable to shake off his bad luck as the incidents of the Pocono qualifying stage repeated itself. Entering Turn 2 during the FireKeepers Casino 400 race, the right rear tire of Elliott’s #9 Chevy gave out, sending the car into a spin. Careening across the track, the #9 Chevy hit the outer retaining wall multiple times, suffering race-ending damage.

Managing to limp his car back to the garage area, Elliott then paid a visit to the infield care center owing to the massive hits borne by his #9 machine. Discharged from the care center, Elliott, in an interview with NBC’s Parker Kligerman, said, “I hate that it happened. It was really early in the day to have a tire blow like that. It was really weird. It’s a bummer, but not surprised.” With only three races remaining in the regular season, Kligerman then asked Elliott about his playoff stance. Iterating how he is still on the lookout for a win, Elliott added, “I told y’all that the week I got back. So, nothing’s changed.”

Read More: “I Don’t Believe It Enough”- HMS Legend Loses Faith in Unpredictable Chase Elliott

Given his long list of disappointments, can Chase Elliott still secure a playoff spot?