“Easy When Things Go Bad to Jump Ship”: Chase Elliott Hails Team Effort After Breaking NASCAR Streak

It took 42 races for Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott to return to victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway. Coming off a horrible 2023 season, staying winless and out of the playoffs, this win is something that Elliott can be proud of. Not long after the race the Dawsonville native spoke with the media and was all praises for the immaculate team effort from the HMS camp.

 “I’ve been really proud of our group for sticking together. It’s easy when things go bad to jump ship, go do something different, and for those guys to go elsewhere. It just is. It happens a lot,” said Elliott.

It’s quite common to see drivers and personnel to jump ship to find better prospects when things aren’t going well for them. But for Elliott and his team, moving away from HMS wasn’t something on the cards. Instead, it was all about the wait, the journey through the rough patches of his career and finally being able to bounce back to glory.

“I think that the win’s great. All that stuff is fantastic, but truthfully, I’m most proud of the journey and the group of people that we have climbed back up together with. We’ve made each other better. They push me to be a better driver and a better person.”

Speaking about his team, the 2020 Cup Series champion believed they were in a good place and was happy to see their hard work finally pay off. “Those guys deserve to win. They’ve been busting it for a while and doing a really good job,” he concluded.

Can Chase Elliott bounce back and fight for the title this season?

When it comes to the championship fight, Elliott is one of the fan favorites to take part in that. Although many would have hoped to see him in the playoffs last year, the HMS driver was unable to make it into the postseason.

But this time around Elliott seems to be stronger than before and his win at Texas means he’s already locked in for the playoffs later this year. Also, Hendrick Motorsports in general has shown great pace across the field. So taking all of that into account, if things only keep getting better for the #9 team, then the sky is the limit for Elliott moving forward.