With a broken tibia and a one-race suspension, Chase Elliott, in the ongoing season, has seen it all. However, what the poster boy of NASCAR has not seen this year and has eluded to is a victory. With a limited number of races left in the regular season, the NO. 9 Chevy has yet to take the reins.

If one remembers correctly, then by this time last year, Chase Elliott already had four victories and was the biggest contender for the regular-season championship. However, this season has been a pure story of tragedy still unfolding in layers. As the hope to enter the post-season steadily worsens for the HMS driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr puts to rest all the conjectures related to Elliott’s entering the playoffs once and for all.

Dale Earnhardt Jr charts out the probable future steps of Chase Elliott to enter the playoffs

The ‘Tricky Triangle,’ situated among the luscious green mountains of the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, bore witness to one of the most contentious races of the season, followed by several cautions and on-track debacles. Drivers were left fuming after a series of wrecks and contacts forced them to retire from the race early.

Nevertheless, it was Denny Hamlin who went on to win his seventh Pocono race, a victory that was long overdue after shoving Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson to the wall. While Larson had fallen back into the pack after the incident, his teammate Chase Elliott, the only HMS driver, climbed to the top of the track and finished 10th.

However, that does not end his playoff woes, as he is still way below the cut line, and it is a victory that can end all worries once and for all. Although Elliott has portrayed a brave face and is still optimistic about earning a victory, Dale Earnhardt Jr would beg to differ.

In an episode of Dale Jr Download, the former Cup Series driver revealed, “Going to be interesting now that Chase is pretty much going to muscle in. It’s going to be interesting to watch him battle that up. I love it, and I think it’s fascinating, knowing these guys probably aren’t winning a championship this year; they are not gonna factor into the final four.”

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Chase Elliott’s hope diminishes as Dale Jr warns him of the future repercussions

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It is truly a situation where Elliott has to be worried about his performance and turn the tides of his fate. Although, given the fact Elliott has never missed any playoffs since upgrading to Cup Series, it is also true that he has never missed a single race since his inception in the Cup Series. However, the present scenario stands in contrast to all the past efforts. 

Furthermore, his other two teammates, Kyle Larson, and William Byron, have already occupied their playoff berths after their respective victories. Nonetheless, with each passing day, Elliott’s hopes are becoming bleaker.

Even Junior added to the fact, “I don’t believe it, but the bubble battle is something to talk about it. It’s important to them, it matters to them when you do not make it to the playoffs; it is freaking embarrassing. And especially when you don’t, and a teammate does, even worse, and there is no way that your team owner just mashes the reset button in all season and says I’ll go again.”

“He is changing something because if you do not make a change, you are assuming that you are okay with it. If you miss the Playoffs, you can expect things to be different about your program next season in some way or another,” Junior concluded.

Nevertheless, as the saying goes, it’s not over till it’s over; Chase Elliott still has a minuscule probability of entering the Playoffs. If he can gain a victory in the remaining 5 races, Elliott can continue his streak of never missing the Playoffs.

 Read More: Chase Elliott Adopts New “Tactic” to Make It Into the Playoffs and Fans Are Very Confused