Following the NASCAR Cup race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, poor old Chase Elliott endured a rough day. The 2020 Cup Series champion could only muster 21st place in the race and spoke about it afterwards. In his words, he did a really bad job and was obviously missing something. Looking ahead to the next race at Homestead-Miami, Elliott admitted that he needed to re-evaluate himself.

However, many fans were not convinced that this was the case. They believe that the fault mostly lay with crew chief Alan Gustafson and a poor strategy. In a similar vein, they praised Elliott for trying to take the blame for himself and protecting the team. Even when the car under him is not so fast, the #9 driver will always think that he was at fault.

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How did NASCAR fans react to Chase Elliott and his actions?

Many fans knew that this weekend, the #9 Hendrick Motorsports car simply did not have the pace to compete at the front. To make matters worse, he qualified 20th, which placed him smack dab in the midfield. So it was always going to be a chore for him to try and make his way to the front.

Admittedly, crew chief Alan Gustafson could have taken a few gambles on the track. However, it could have also been a double-edged sword, because something like taking two fresh tires could have backfired. Though it is worth mentioning that the likes of Denny Hamlin and Justin Haley were able to make that strategy work for them.

Some people also suggested that when Chase Elliott re-evaluated his own performance, he needed his team with him. The fans advised that he put more simulator time and have crew chief Alan Gustafson with him. One thing was for sure, they did not want the #9 driver to be the fall guy again, if the Hendrick Motorsports team messed up in the future.

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