Jeff Gordon brands Chase Elliott recent performance as “frustrating”

Four times Cup series champion Jeff Gordon has shared his feelings about the recent struggles of Chase Elliott compared to his HMS teammates.

Jeff Gordon brands Chase Elliott recent performance as “frustrating”

Jeff Gordon and Chase Elliott (Via IMAGO)

The 2025 NASCAR Cup season so far hasn’t been solid for 2020 Bill France Cup winner Chase Elliott. He came into the season with hopes of redemption after missing out on the title despite a consistent run in 2024 and had a strong start. But the last couple of races has been disappointing for the No:9 Chevy team, with last Sunday’s Miami race being yet another addition to the list.

At Homestead Miami, Chase Elliott’s teammate Kyle Larson winning, with Alex Bowman finishing P2. Meanwhile the No:9 racer finished P18, not up to the standards of Hendrick Motorsports. Four times champion Jeff Gordon shared his thoughts the performance from the most famous racer in the series and highlighted what was their goals coming into season.

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Similar to the 48 [team of Alex Bowman]. I feel like they came into the season with a lot of momentum as well and started strong, meaning just you could just sense that they’ve got a lot of confidence and coming to the racetrack ready to go.

Jeff Gordon said after Miami race.

Further talking about the point, Gordon admitted that the couple of weeks has been really frustrating for the team and added that Sunday event was another disappointment added to the list. But Gordon believes Elliott will bounce back as they have a solid team and has a pretty good depth to succeed.

I think the last couple of weeks probably were a little bit frustrating for them. I think today is probably going to be a little bit frustrating for them, too. But they’re a really solid team. Just a lot of depth and a lot of belief in one another.

Jeff Gordon added.

Jeff Gordon believes Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott are reacting positively to the struggle

Further talking about the struggle of Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott in the 2025 season, as they have been outperformed by drivers racing for lesser teams, Gordon pointed out that the duo is going through a rocky phase. They will eventually overcome it, once they get to tracks where they have been solid in the past.

Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman
Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman (Via IMAGO)

He then asserted that the No:48 and No:9 teams have to step up, work more to meet the expectations that are set for them. The Hall of Famer believes it isn’t usually for even the best drivers to have bad streak and seeing the positive response to the struggles by the duo, he has hopes of them bouncing back sooner than later.

So, if you’re not achieving what you want to achieve, then you know you’ve got to go to work, and you know that you’re not meeting expectations. So those guys have high expectations, Alan, Chase. It’s not unusual for them to get down a little bit on, ‘Hey, this isn’t good enough,’ but I’ve seen them react really well and positively to that too.

Jeff Gordon said.

The comments from the HMS Vice Chairman proves they are ready to invest everything that is needed to make his driver successful in the coming races. It will be interesting to see how long it’s going to take for the duo to perform on the same level as Kyle Larson and William Byron.