There used to be a time when Chase Elliott was considered the top gun in Rick Hendrick’s Cup Series stable. That stature is now held by the 2025 champion, Kyle Larson, who took over in the last three seasons.
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Elliott is surely attempting to regain his throne, and NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Jr. has expressed confidence that the No. 9 driver will find success.
“Chase Elliott is a champion, and before Larson, he was the guy at Hendrick. I’m still holding out. You know, I hope that he gets himself back to the top,” said Junior, before citing Elliott’s 2025 performance to substantiate his belief.
“They got some work done in that regard this year. I saw some consistency and performance in that team that I think they’ve been looking for,” he added.
With two wins, 11 top-5s, and 19 top-10s, Elliott had a consistent season in 2025. His stability throughout the year has impressed Junior. It also led Dale Jr. to believe that Elliott would greatly benefit from the potential playoff format change next season.
“I think that the format change could really help that team. No matter whether it’s 3-3-4 or just straight 10, it’s all the same to me,” said Dale Jr.
“I think that, you know, Chase is definitely a guy that you could look at as somebody who could put together the 10 races needed to be right in the mix going into Homestead,” added Junior.
For the 2026 season, NASCAR is moving away from Phoenix Raceway as its title decider, and Homestead-Miami will host the final race. Could Elliott race for the title at the 1.5-mile South Florida track? It remains to be seen.
Elliott doesn’t think he had a great season
The Dawsonville native finished eighth in the points standings at the end of the 2025 campaign. The fact that he scored the fourth-most points from Daytona to Phoenix shows the kind of consistent season he had.
The only point of concern is that Elliott did not bring home enough wins to justify the high standard that he has set for himself. “I think for us, it was okay at times, and really solid at times, but it just wasn’t great. We’ve had some high spots here or there, but certainly not as consistently doing that as what we would like,” he said in a press conference after receiving the most popular driver award this year.
It cannot be denied that the No. 9 crew at HMS has been improving year-on-year, despite their driver’s struggles in adapting to the Next Gen car. Should his upward trend continue, Elliott would be a serious contender for the championship in 2026.
