Chase Elliott is arguably the nicest, soft-spoken (with an exception), kind, and low-key NASCAR driver out there in the current crop. Despite being the face of the sport at such a young age, despite taking over the Most Popular Driver baton from Dale Earnhardt Jr, the Georgia native seems to be the calmest driver on the grid.

However, the same cannot be said about his fans.

This is all the more clear by the discourse around Alan Gustafson, Elliott’s crew chief, after the race in Richmond. For some context, there was a strange radio message in the race between the driver and his crew chief in which Gustafson came off as cagey about a problem that dropped the 2020 Cup champion way down the grid within the space of a few laps.

What did Alan Gustafson tell Chase Elliott that has his fans riled up?

During the race in Richmond, the Hendrick driver started in seventh on lap 253 but within 3 laps, he slipped back to the eighteenth position because of an unexplained problem.

This unexplained problem and him falling behind were then followed by some curious exchanges on his radio between him and his crew chief.

“I don’t know what happened to this thing dude,” Elliott told his crew chief on the radio. “Just be nice and smooth with it, just take care of it,” his crew chief replied back.

As for what the problem really was, when Elliott asked his crew chief, Gustafson said it was “another problem.” “I’ll tell you later,” he said.

So far, neither Gustafson nor Elliott has clarified what the problem was.

As a result, it seems like the fans of the driver have decided who to blame, not only for the Richmond race but for Elliott’s recent shortcomings.

Also Read: William Byron Explains What Was Needed to Stop Denny Hamlin from Beating Him to NASCAR Win in Richmond