It is safe to call Chase Elliott a ‘fan favorite’. Winning the Most Popular Driver award six times, that too in a row, only helps him flaunt his place in NASCAR. However, as they say, “You can not please everyone.” Unfortunately, the #9 driver got to experience this first-hand when a fun idea from Hendrick Motorsports‘ social media team backfired to the point where the post got fans to question the driver’s very personality.

The video posted by HMS on Twitter began with Chase Elliott being put in the spotlight as he was asked to name things for different categories, like racetrack, food, city, and more. However, throughout the video, Elliott seemed distracted and uninterested in the whole ordeal. This eventually led the fandom to take jibes at Elliott, and some even claimed that Alex Bowman would have been a better fit for the video.

HMS returns with another Mad Libs session, with Chase Elliott

Taking the simple concept of the game ‘Mad Libs’, Hendrick Motorsports intended to create a moment (again), allowing their drivers to connect better with the fans. While Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson have previously had their turns, Chase Elliott took the hot seat this time around. As Elliott got done with the ‘questions’ part of the game, the ‘Story Time’ actually turned out to be pretty interesting.

As per the 2020 Cup Series champion’s Mad Libs suggestions, he, in his story, was headed for Bristol but ended up in New York. He narrated, “Chase Elliott was headed to Bristol until he took a wrong turn and ended up in New York. It was a sunny day in October when Chase realised he was lost.” Surprisingly, he chanced upon former HMS driver and 7-time champion Jimmie Johnson in a Hooters outlet after nine hours of wandering.

He continued, “He made his way to the closest Concord to ask for directions. After what felt like nine hours aimlessly wandering, Chase stumbled upon a Hooters. As soon as he walked in, he saw Jimmie Johnson singing with Whiskey Myers.” Elliot further narrated that toward the end, “Jimmie Johnson saw Chase and offered him an Italian, but Chase declined and immediately began asking for directions. It turned out that Chase was 94 miles away from Bristol, shortly gathered his things, and made his way there.”

While it is pretty amusing to imagine the 7 time Cup Champion in a setting like this, the fans were apparently not happy with the video. A major reason for it seemed to be Elliott’s demeanor, which seemed rather dull and unconvinced, with a deep tone, which fans couldn’t help but criticize.

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NASCAR fans bash the Hendrick Motorsports star for his unintuitive Mad Libs session

The comment section of the Twitter post was filled with fans denouncing Chase’s behavior. Many of the fans expected Chase to smile or be funny, and probably share a few jokes. A fan commented that Hendrick Motorsports tried its best to provide some light-hearted content, but Chase wasn’t having any part of it.

They wrote, “Well, I appreciate the effort the social team gave on trying to give fans more content with the drivers. Too bad Chase looked like he wanted no part of this video.”

Another fan lamented the lack of excitement in the video, stating, “Please add some salt or spice next time; this is rather bland.” It seems the six-time Most Popular Driver award winner can have bad days with the fanbase.

Some were pretty straightforward as they suggested, “Just do this s**t with Bowman from now on. I didn’t know it was possible to have negative personality.” Here is Bowman’s Mad Lib video from last month in case any one of you missed it.

“Tell me Chase wasn’t interested in doing this without telling me Chase wasn’t interested in doing this,” wrote another fan, signaling that Hendrick Motorsports may have forced Chase Elliott into doing the video.

However, some of the fans enjoyed it as well. One of the fans thought his answers were somewhat predictable, but they liked the story of him losing his direction and ending up in New York. He commented, “Hmm, some answers expected, some answers off the wall! The story was laughable, for sure! LOL”

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Irrespective of the response to the video, Chase Elliott will have a large and supportive fanbase behind him as he pursues redemption in the 2024 season. After an injury-laden season with no playoff action, Elliott will need support more than ever.