Hendrick Motorsports hasn’t hit the ground running in the playoffs. While Joe Gibbs Racing has swept the Round of 16, and Team Penske has now won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, NASCAR’s most successful teams haven’t gotten going just yet. There have been encouraging signs, though, such as William Byron’s third-place finish at the 2025 Mobil 1 301 and Chase Elliott’s podium finish at Gateway. But Victory Lane continues to elude Rick Hendrick’s side, and the sport’s most popular driver is issuing a warning sign.

Despite finishing fifth at the ‘Magic Mile,’ Elliott couldn’t help but focus on the room for improvement in his race craft. With Kansas Motor Speedway on the horizon, could the No. 9 Chevy driver turn his fortunes around to secure a berth in the Round of 8?

Chase Elliott has mixed emotions after New Hampshire comeback

The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. After all, the Round of 12 was officially underway at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, with teams hoping to end Joe Gibbs Racing’s dominance in the playoffs. It was always going to be an uphill task for the Ford and Chevy teams, especially considering the Japanese manufacturer’s dominance at the venue in the Next-Gen era, where they’ve dominated and led laps more than anyone else. But in a surprising turn of events, Ryan Blaney ended up in Victory Lane, closely followed by Josh Berry, while William Byron ended up in third place.

Meanwhile, Chase Elliott finished fifth, an impressive result after starting in 27th place. But despite his majestic run in New Hampshire, the 29-year-old couldn’t help but say in the post-race interview, “I didn’t necessarily have it circled until we got done yesterday. That was concerning. You know, I just hate I put us in these holes. It’s a great day, for sure, to battle back up through there and call our way back up into the mix, but you hate to have to do that. You know, you hate to have to put yourself in those positions. Everybody on pit road did a great job with a terrible stall. I mean, coming around the #88, #71 was coming around us. Hats off to everybody on our pit crew.”

While Elliott redeemed himself with a top-five finish under difficult circumstances, the racer shouldn’t ideally be in such a situation to begin with. The Georgia-native didn’t end up winning stage points after the opening 70 laps because he was busy gaining track positions, and while he did end up seventh at the end of Stage 2, four points isn’t nearly enough under the circumstances. However, with the ‘win and in’ playoff structure, the No. 9 driver needs to finish consistently high or secure clutch results, but he seems to be struggling in both aspects at the moment.

Chase Elliott isn’t alone either. Kyle Larson and William Byron have struggled to secure wins as well, and while they did end up inside the top-10 in New Hampshire, the margins are thinner than they’ve ever been. With just six races remaining, Hendrick Motorsports needs to get its act together and fast, with the Georgia-native even admitting to the lack of performance by saying, “Certainly, didn’t have anything on Ryan and those guys. Congrats to him, did a great job. Got to step up a bit to catch them, but certainly competitive to the rest.”

It’s now or never for Chase Elliott. As things stand, he’s seventh in the playoff standings, just 14 points above the cutline going into the upcoming race at Kansas Speedway.

Chase Elliott hopes to fare better at Kansas Speedway

While he could potentially get a result at the 1.5-mile venue or the Charlotte Roval, there’s little margin for error, and he runs the risk of being eliminated in the Round of 12 for the first time since 2016. But his No. 9 Chevy was lightning-fast at the spring race earlier this year, and he has won at the track, even though it was back in 2018.

Sharing his expectations for the Hollywood Casino 400, Elliott said, “Well, you’re not going to stack points until you get stage points. You know, man, that’s just the truth of the matter. And the qualifying thing hurts you so bad on that front. I’m well aware of all that. Certainly looking forward to going to Kansas. Thought we had a really strong car there in the spring. Hopefully, that means we can go have a good run there. And really excited about the Roval. So, looking forward to it, man. Whatever it is. We’ll fight to the end.”

It’s been nearly five years since Chase Elliott won the championship, and results have steadily declined since then, especially during the Next-Gen era. However, if the former ‘road course king’ can turn back the clock, especially at the Charlotte Roval, it’s well within the realm of possibility that he could go all the way to Phoenix Raceway and challenge for the silverware once again. That’ll be easier said than done, though, but with a fifth-place finish and momentum on his side, the 29-year-old will give it everything he’s got in the upcoming fixtures.