Ever since the start of this season, Chase Elliott had been marred with terrible luck, losing out on key points that would eventually come around to haunt him later. It was an injury that saw him out of the car for several races, then a single race suspension as well as running out of fuel mid-race all contributed to his first-ever non-playoff contention season.
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Although he did make it in the owner’s playoffs for the postseason, the 2020 Cup Series champion soon tumbled down that standing as well. But recently, while discussing Elliott and his performance this season, former driver Kyle Petty simply failed to put the HMS driver into the points picture for this season.
NASCAR Insider flabbergasted with Chase Elliott’s downfall
When asked about Elliott’s chances to win at Martinsville this weekend while on the Motorsports on NBC Podcast, Kyle Petty mentioned, “I think Chase Elliott’s best chance to win at Martinsville is next year.”
Adding, “This year has been an abysmal year for Chase Elliott and I don’t wanna get into the owner’s playoffs and all that stuff, but my gosh man, he’s fallen like a rock in the owner’s playoff. Put him in a playoff situation and he falls like a rock.”
Throughout the season, Elliott has not been able to win a single race, and judging by the weight of the remaining two races, he might as well end this season winless.
Insider believes Elliott has packed up and moved on
Soon after another analyst, Brad Daughtery, expressed his doubts regarding Elliott’s performance, stating that he seems to lack the drive and passion to dominate on the racetrack. He noted that while the HMS drivers have performed well at Martinsville in the past, he has been consistently mid-pack elsewhere this postseason.
Thereafter, he concluded, “I think the season’s over for Chase Elliott. I think they kinda packed up and moved on…”
Additionally, considering that Elliott was not able to qualify for the playoffs this season, it would make sense for HMS and the #9 team to shift their focus onto the upcoming season, writing off the current one in the process.
Elliott possibly had his worst season this year, but by preparing for the next season beforehand, he might as well be able to arrive prepared right from day one.
