After last year’s misfortune in Colorado when a snowboarding trip went terribly wrong, Hendrick Motorsports‘ ace speedster Chase Elliott is still trying to get back to form. However, he hasn’t been able to do that till now. Heading into the short track extravaganza at Bristol, Elliott has just a handful of top-20 finishes and hasn’t even a single top-5 finish. Sounds concerning? Well, for most HMS fans out there, this is something to ponder upon. Ever since his return after the March accident, Elliott isn’t looking the same, struggling to rack up a win and get his confidence back.

With the driver still searching in the dark for a W to redeem himself and get back on his winning ways, the million-dollar question is, will Elliott be able to do that? Let us explore what the DBC crew had to say.

“He doesn’t have the speed” – The DBC crew gets blunt and honest about Chase Elliott and the #9 HMS Chevy’s current situation

Elliott’s best finish so far this season is a 12th-place finish at Las Vegas. While the driver showed exceptional speed at Daytona, coming in second in Duel 1, the fact of the matter is he hasn’t been able to dish out the same level of performance. With this, Elliott fans have started expressing concerns to analysts and enthusiasts alike.

Coming to the recent development, a fan reached out to the DBC podcast to get more insights on the 2020 Cup Series champion’s situation, doubting whether the driver will be able to get into the playoffs or win a race. Responding to the fan query, Griffin started off by saying, “He’s gonna make the playoffs.” He then added, “I don’t know if he’s that good but the cars definitely fast. So one or the other, both. Chase, he’s gonna be like the play-off, and he’s probably gonna win a race.” 

While the crew rests their hopes on “Mr. Road course,” Kraft couldn’t help but put it out there bluntly, saying, “He doesn’t have the speed to win a race right now. whether they find it or not.is another thing but they they don’t have the speed to win right now.” Meanwhile, TJ Majors came up with a different view. He said, “There’s enough races on the schedule still left before the playoffs that I can look at and be like, yeah, Chase should be faster. Now if we go to COTA, and he doesn’t show signs of speed there, I’ll probably be a little concerned.” 

In short, Elliott needs to get back his form and capitalize on the upcoming road races and HMS needs to set up an adequate racecar to power the champion to the top, ending his dismal streak. Griffin also chimed in with something similar, saying, “He’s got two great tracks coming up, Bristol and COTA. And if he sucks at those two, three weeks from now we’re on the show and that guy calls in. I may be on his side. I may say he’s not going to win a race, but I think right now he wins a race and make playoffs.” 

Will Bristol be the track where Elliott gets his redemption?

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Once NASCAR’s most-watched package, the short races are now a hard nut to crack for drivers. Curious how? Well, the short answer is NASCAR’s new Next-Gen platform. With cars being more and more similar, passing has become more difficult than ever. However, even with that being said, Elliott has a pretty terrific track record at Bristol and the upcoming race at the half-a-mile track might be his shot to join the likes of William Byron and Kyle Larson.

In his last two attempts at the BMS, the 28-year-old recorded a pair of top-10s with a runner-up finish in 2022. The 2020 Cup Series champion has the sixth-best average finish (11.3) at the track and also, the sixth-best points score (99) in his last three starts at the former dirt track. He nearly won the spring race back in 2020, the year when he won the championship before an incident with Joey Logano got him out of the race. However, he came back stronger in the All-Star Race and won it in a flamboyant manner when the event was held at the short track.

With all that said, Elliott has the experience and skill to snag a win and his team, HMS, certainly has the crew and equipment to back his talent. But can he bounce back?

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