Chase Elliott hasn’t been in the best of forms this season. The former Cup Series champion is still out of the playoff spots and still looking to get his first win in 2023. New Hampshire hasn’t been the strongest circuit for Elliott, and by the looks of it, it hasn’t been good for Hendrick Motorsports either.

HMS is one of the most decorated teams in the history of NASCAR and has been able to perform considerably well throughout the current season. Nevertheless, in qualifying at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the HMS cars haven’t shown good pace at all, which is very concerning for the team.

Chase Elliott confused with the drop in pace

The four Hendrick Motorsports cars running at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway weren’t able to live up to the expectations. Two of the Hendrick Motorsport drivers have already qualified for the playoffs. However, even they weren’t able to have a good qualifying at the NHMS.

William Byron who is currently placed at the top of the leaderboard was only able to qualify in seventh place. Kyle Larson who is third on the leaderboard was only able to qualify in the 15th position. And Elliott who was runner-up at NHMS last year was only able to qualify 18th. With Alex Bowman rounding off the four in the 25th place.

Chase Elliott who is still trying to recover from an injury-induced season also faced issues with the car. While the former Cup Series champion hasn’t been able to leave his mark this season, he has managed to gain a lot of stage points considering he hasn’t participated in seven races. However, Elliott hasn’t been able to win a race yet.

Read More: “That Doesn’t Happen Very Often” – Chase Elliott Writes Off Outclassed Hendrick Motorsports’ Chances of a Miraculous Turnaround

Elliott, in a post-qualifying interview, was asked, “What’s perplexing you about—what the car is doing or what the track is doing right now?”

He responded candidly, “A lot. I am just a perplexed person. I stay perplexed, you all should know that by now.”

The reason behind the drop in HMS’s performance in New Hampshire is something that the team would like to explore. The performance drop is as confusing for us as it is for Elliott himself. Nevertheless, it would still be interesting to see if the team will be able to recover these positions and score a good number of points in the race.

Watch This Story: NASCAR Driver Tyler Reddick Becomes the Laughing Stock After Reunion With Billionaire Owner Michael Jordan Garth Brooks