“Lot of Racing Left”: Chase Elliott Wary of Denny Hamlin and HMS Partner Potentially Jeopardizing His Title Chances

Currently, Chase Elliott is leading the regular season standings. After the nightmare that was the 2023 season, this is redemption time for the #9 driver. However, he is not counting his chickens before they are hatched, just yet. Although he started third at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he is refusing to underestimate his rivals.

This is Elliott, who is on a mission to make up for last year. For the sake of context, he missed a bunch of races due to injury and an additional race through a suspension. Although he was granted a waiver, he failed to win a race, thus missing out on the playoffs for the first time in his career.

Earlier this year, he triumphed at the Texas Motor Speedway to lock in his playoff spot. Since then, he has been in great form, with consistent Top 10 finishes. In other words, he and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates have been firing on all cylinders, and they mean business. In spite of this, they will not resort to complacency because they will be wary of their rivals.

In the build-up to the Brickyard 400, the 2020 Cup Series champion was named as the biggest threat. At the same time, he admitted that he wouldn’t exactly call himself a championship favorite. Instead, he believes that the competition will only become much harder, to the point where they will have to win races.

Chase Elliott told Bob Pockrass, “Denny, Tyler, and William are really not far out of it either. There’s still a lot of racing left. It’s kind of how I look at it, a lot can happen in that period of time. Going to force all of us to be really good, have to be really solid. You’re probably going to have to win a race or two. Between now and the end of it to have a legitimate chance without other guys having problems, which I don’t really see 4-5 guys having a ton of issues between now and then, not all of them, at least.”

Chase Elliott, does have a point because the likes of Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron have been strong. All they need is a good run to really close the gap with Elliott. Additionally, Kyle Larson has always been a strong contender, so he will undoubtedly be a big threat. NASCAR has always had a penchant for being unpredictable, so Elliott will have to be on his toes.

How did Chase Elliott perform in the previous race?

On his last outing at Pocono, Chase Elliott could only muster the 9th fastest on the Tricky Triangle. He could have been much higher up the order had he not picked up a speeding penalty during the race. Reflecting back on that race, the #9 driver confessed that he only had himself to blame for the penalty.

This was especially gutting because he had always been careful to avoid speeding on pit roads. In a perfect world, he could have gone his entire NASCAR Cup career without a speeding penalty. Unfortunately, life is not fair, and the real world can be cruel, so it is what it is. All he can do is rue what could have been and then move on to the next race.

On the bright side, his playoff berth is already secure, so he is in no danger of missing out. However, he would have preferred to snatch a win or two, just for the sake of insurance. After all, a win earned for Chase Elliott is a win denied to any of his rivals and another chance lost to book a playoff berth.