Fans filing into New Hampshire Motor Speedway this week hardly needed a reminder of Chase Elliott’s persistent qualifying struggles. Still, they got one anyway as the No. 9 car rolled off a distant 27th on the grid, recording 29.659 seconds. With each race, Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports have faced mounting questions not just about speed, but about strategy, team chemistry, and accountability.

In candid post-qualifying remarks to motorsports reporter Alan Cavanna, Elliott did nothing to sugarcoat his frustration, teeing up a new wave of speculation about where the fingers might point next. The road ahead remains as steep as ever, but what exactly did Elliott say, and what ripple effects does it carry for Alan Gustafson and the team’s playoff outlook?

Chase Elliott’s blunt admission

Chase Elliott’s frustration broke through at New Hampshire with profound clarity as he told Alan Cavanna, “We’re used to it at this point, we qualify last every week”. This wasn’t a passing remark; it was a headline moment, delivered with the full force of a team consistently fighting uphill. As documented in X post-race coverage, Elliott reaffirmed, “It’s a result of my mistakes that I take full accountability for. Certainly an uphill climb, but there will be no quit”.

While the driver appeared to shoulder blame, the specificity of repeated poor qualifying performances immediately cast crew chief Alan Gustafson into the spotlight. Elliott’s candidness comes against the backdrop of mounting fan criticism directed at Gustafson. During race weekends, social media threads have echoed phrases like “Gustafson has cost 9 team like 30 total positions tonight lol,” and “Putting your driver on defense for 2/3 of the race isn’t going to help the lack of speed either. Something is off with this team and has been since 2023”.

Fallout from specific events, such as a conservative pit call at Indy and a controversial two-tire strategy at Dover, has fueled calls for crew chief changes and more aggressive race management. The current qualifying trend is particularly glaring: Elliott’s average grid position in the last several events has been outside the top 20, hampering his track position from the start and demanding maximum-effort recoveries every Sunday.

At Darlington, for example, he qualified 21st and finished 17th, but only through a series of long green-flag runs and strategic pit cycling that drew as much ire as it did admiration. When asked post-race how this affected his mentality, Elliott said, “Had a brief conversation with Alan right when I got out of the car. I was like, ‘Man, is that going to knock us out?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I think so…’ At that point, obviously, we’re just bummed”.

For context, Elliott and Gustafson are not new to adversity; they won the Cup title together in 2020, but expectations are different now. With only a single win and a handful of top fives this season, the pressure for tangible qualifying improvement mounts weekly, especially with Elliott still a major playoff contender.

While Chase Elliott uses careful phrasing to shield his crew chief publicly, “I take full accountability,” the admission “we qualify last every week” signals a nuanced shift in public blame and underscores the critical scrutiny aimed at Alan Gustafson’s approach as the No. 9 team’s postseason hopes hang in the balance.

Chase Elliott’s playoff pressure and turning the tide

Chase Elliott’s impressive comeback from 27th to fifth place at New Hampshire was a strong show of determination, but it also highlighted just how tough the playoff battle has become for Hendrick Motorsports. Elliott candidly admitted the frustration of starting so deep in the field, saying, “I just hate that I put us in these holes. It’s a great day, for sure, to battle back up through there and claw our way back up into the mix, but you hate to have to do that.”

He also praised his pit crew for their resilience during challenging stops. The NASCAR playoff system places huge emphasis on stage points, and Elliott’s poor starting position often leaves him disadvantaged in that regard. Despite his strong race pace, he only managed to earn four points from Stage 2. Elliott acknowledged the gap to the leaders, noting he didn’t have “anything on Ryan and those guys,” recognizing the need to close that gap to compete for wins.

Currently sitting seventh in the playoff standings, Elliott is just 14 points above the elimination cutline with only two races remaining in this round. William Byron and Kyle Larson, his Hendrick teammates, have also been struggling to secure wins, adding to the pressure on the team as a whole. Elliott emphasized the urgency, saying, “You’re not going to stack points until you get stage points. And the qualifying thing hurts you so bad on that front.”

He is hopeful about qualifying and race prospects at upcoming tracks like Kansas and Charlotte, where he has had success before, but acknowledged that every race will be a fight. With the margin for error razor-thin, Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports must solve their qualifying problems quickly if they want to compete for the championship.

The team’s playoff hopes hinge on turning strong race speed into better starting positions and more stage points in the final races. The pressure is intense, but Elliott remains determined, saying they “will fight to the end.” This critical juncture will define Elliott’s season and whether Hendrick Motorsports can regain the consistency needed to move deeper into the playoffs and challenge for the title this year.