Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives “disappointment” verdict on Chase Elliott’s 2025 season
NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. has assessed the 2025 Cup Series season performance of Chase Elliott via his podcast.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Chase Elliott (Via IMAGO)
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott has been flying under the radar so far in the 2025 season. While his teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron won multiple races, securing their places in the playoffs, the 2020 Cup champion has been producing consistent runs. He is currently P5 in the championship table with five top 10s from nine races.
NASCAR Hall of Famer and ex-HMS racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the recent episode of his podcast, has evaluated the performance of the No:9 Chevy team. He believes Chase Elliott and co has mixed feelings about how their season has played out going into the Easter break. But their most recent outing has been a huge disappointment, as he missed out a top 10.
Chase Elliott would not be happy with that. Neither would his crew chief Alan [Gustafson]…Now this year, I’m starting to see that car like you might expect it to. They still have some tough days; I think Bristol they were probably disappointed for sure to be not in the top 10.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said via Dale Jr. Download.
Junior highlighted how the track position hinderer his progress on the day, but at the same time Chase Elliott also showed signs of producing solid runs. He asserted that despite the disappointment, the team has improved and seems to be in the right direction as they chase another Cup championships.
It was just a track position thing more than likely. But I think there’s a glimmer of what can be for that team. I know he’s probably disappointed, but I think they’ve improved and are starting to head in the right direction.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. how the snowboarding accident derailed his performance streak
In 2023 Chase Elliott had a snowboarding accident and missed out on 6 races owing to a tibia injury. It took him a year to get back to winning ways. But since his win at Texas 2024 mid-season, he hasn’t been able to pull of another one despite consistently finishing inside the top-5.
Talking about the impact of the incident, Junior pointed out that the struggles the No:9 team had since the incident proves how tough the elite NASCAR division is. He pointed out that the incident derailed their momentum as it took them a lot of time to get back to the speed and consistency that made them successful.
Chase, to me, like this tells you how tough the Cup Series is. He got injured in a snowboarding deal; I know that was a while ago, but that little disruption sort of set him back and the team just couldn’t ever find their groove or find their speed and some consistency and get him comfortable. For a while, it was really a struggle.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.
The comments from Junior highlights how hard the most popular driver in the garage had to work to get back to winning ways in the top division. It would be interesting to see how long it will take for the star driver to convert his hard work to the first win of the 2025 season.
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