“He Can’t Handle Being #2”: Racing Fandom Tears Apart Chase Elliott’s Bristol Reveal Amid Heated Tensions at Rick Hendrick’s Camp

Days have come and gone since the evening at the Kansas Speedway. But the ears are buzzed with sounds of burst tires and crashed metal. What was expected to be a calm and collective race ended up being quite a dramatic affair. As the victory lane saw an unlikely visitor in 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, the top crop that included Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, and Kyle Larson had to settle for spots in the top 5. As frustrating as the night could have been for these drivers, one person for whom it arguably was much worse is the out-of-luck Chase Elliott.

The No. 9 star of Rick Hendrick looked poised to finish P3 when the late caution that forced a restart came out. Ultimately ending the race at P6, it was a fair day for him as far as the stats are concerned. But what has got him in fickle are his antics with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson.

Chase Elliott’s unwarranted retaliation to an honest mistake from Kyle Larson

For every new driver that climbs into the top tier of NASCAR in 2024, one appeal will remain higher than the rest. That is to avoid having a season like the Chase Elliott has had in 2023. Missing out on multiple races due to injury, his return did not hold enough water to give him a pass to enter the playoff season. Adding to the misery were the continual controversies that he got himself into.

For some, it could be an understandable sentiment that for a driver who has seen the summits of success early on in his career, accepting a downfall could be hard to digest. Even so, it is highly doubtful that even the most staunch fans of Elliott would find a way to reason with his actions at Kansas on Sunday.

With Chris Buescher’s blown tire bringing out the caution flag in the final moments of the race, all the drivers were forced to the pit stops. As they drove back into the track for the restart, Brad Keselowski squeezed space out of Kyle Larson’s Chevrolet and led him to make an unavoidable contact with the No. 9 car of Chase. Unaware of the situation that Kyle was in, Chase reacted in the spur of the moment and rammed him back, showing his anger.

Speaking to NBC Sports after the checkered flag, Kyle said, “I understand why he is mad, or was mad in the moment. I hope when he sees the replay he understands I didn’t have any space, or not much just inches. So just a bummer but I’m glad neither of us got tore up there and we could get a good finish.” 

While Kyle Larson’s words can be considered a reflection of his character, the NASCAR fandom hasn’t been taking Chase’s retaliation as easily. As The Athletic reporter Jeff Gluck shared images of the black-gold color scheme of Chase’s car for the upcoming night race at Bristol, fans took the opportunity to throw some inflicting shots.

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Despite not making it to the playoffs, Chase Elliott sits behind the wheel at every track in the hopes of securing Rick Hendrick an owner championship. He will go into the Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday with the same purpose. There will be one slight change in the roster for him though. The color scheme of his car will not be the usual blue and white.

Jeff Gluck shared the alternative color scheme on his X handle.

The weekend still lingering fresh in the air, followers have begun expressing their opinions below the post. Mirroring the opinion of thousands of fans across the globe was this sarcastic exchange between two users.

A lot of replies could be seen to have been fed up with the attitude that Chase has been displaying on the tracks. One other follower of Jeff had been impressed with the colors of the car, but couldn’t find it in themselves to not crack a nut at the cost of the driver.

Their reply went, “That’ll be the best-looking car that’s intentionally wrecking everyone this week!” Openly confronting the friction that Chase has with Kyle Larson, one follower rather harshly considered that Kyle should hit back at his teammate. He tweeted, “Larson should door slam him like Elliott loves to do him. Spoiled brat can’t handle being the #2 guy”.

The black-gold color scheme appears to have been more than just a random choice of colors from a palette. It could have been more of a strategic move considering that the race will be held at night. Wondering the same, one fan questioned with sarcasm, “Is that so he can sneak up behind his Championship Contender teammate and wreck him?” One more fan’s response garnered a few laughs as he named the scheme, “Hissy Fit Black”.

The 27-year-old son of NASCAR legend Bill Elliott has always been a champion loved by many. Winning the Most Popular Driver award multiple times at such a young age, he holds the potential to become one of the greatest that the sport has seen. But the inability to showcase the grit of a leader can derail him from that path.

Read More: “Gotta Learn to Control”- Larry McReynolds Exposes Chase Elliott’s Insecurities With Kyle Larson