NASCAR insider: Chase Elliott 'not even close' to meeting expectations

Chase Elliott is the most popular driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. However, the former champion of the circuit has found it tough to get to Victory Lane over the past couple of seasons, while his teammates Kyle Larson, William Byron and even Alex Bowman make statements week-in and week-out.

The Dawsonville, Georgia has been consistently solid, ranking P4 in the point standings, amassing six top tens and three top fives through 11 races. The lack of winning is what has Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic concerned though. He wants to see more out of Elliott and the No. 9 team, especially considering their standing at Hendrick Motorsports.

“We need to have a Chase Elliott conversation,” Bianchi stated, via The Teardown. “Since the start of the 2023 season, the Wood Brothers have more wins than Chase Elliott does. That’s crazy to think about. That’s no disrespect to the Wood Brothers, that’s just the reality of the situation. They have two wins. Chase Elliott has one points win since the start of the 2023 season. That’s crazy to think about. This is again becoming a typical, what I would associate with a typical Chase Elliott year. They run just well enough.

“You look at their average finish, you know, that kind of thing, and they grind out these finishes, and that’s good, and it keeps them up in the point standings. He’s fourth in points. Okay, that’s good, but that’s not good enough for this team. You look at laps-led this year, Kyle Larson and William Byron are first and second. Alex Bowman is ninth. Chase Elliott, 15th. 45 laps-led this year. This team should be better. It needs to be better.

“On a race track where this is tailor-made for Hendrick Motorsports. We saw that today with the No. 5. Obviously, the No. 24 was up there too, until they had pit road damage. Bowman was in the mix. Elliot, they needed a tire gamble to get that track position. It wasn’t like they had sheer speed. There’s just, fundamentally, something is missing with this team. It’s been missing for a while. Kudos to them for grinding it out and finding a way week after week to get top 10s, and that kind of thing.

“Led the series in average finish last year, and that’s great, but they are not winning enough. They’re not leading enough laps. They’re not getting stage wins enough. This team is falling short of the expectations. Now, that’s a real high bar, but they’re not even close to meeting that.”

Alas, many believed Elliott could have a fruitful weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, but it wasn’t meant to be. He finished P16 after starting P30 in the Lone Star State, at the venue that was the site of his last victory in the Cup Series.

Of course, winning at least one race in the next month and change would quiet the doubters, but it’s easy to see why confidence has fallen in Chase Elliott. Until he puts on a dominating performance, like his teammates have done in 2025, there will be more questions than answers, and disappointed No. 9 fans at the track.