“It’s a Few-Week Blip” – Fans Unhappy as NASCAR Media Forces NAPA to Speak Against Chase Elliott but the Hendrick Motorsports Ally Shuts Them Down

For a motorsport sponsor, more eyes on the car mean more eyes on the business. And for a primary sponsor, such deals are quite valuable. NAPA Auto Parts is one such company that has been among one of the longest-serving sponsors in NASCAR. Currently, NAPA is the primary sponsor for Hendrick Motorsports driver, Chase Elliott who is presently not racing owing to his leg injury that took place shortly after the extension.

With Chase gone, the brand is getting affected negatively. Following Chase’s incident, NASCAR media tried to take a dig at the injured driver by persuading the sponsor to vouch against him, but an ally’s reply shot it all down and led to the fans calling out the media.

Chase Elliott’s history didn’t let his sponsor walk away

For an auto parts company, advertising at a motorsport event is one of the best ways to put their brand out there, in front of the right target audience. Similarly, NAPA has primarily sponsored Chase Elliott for about a decade, with an extension until 2027. However, his leg injury has brought a lot of media attention, and the media has reportedly criticized Elliott.

But NAPA’s parent company’s executive, Kevin Herron, with his message, led fans to call out NASCAR media and seldom praise NAPA’s decision. As reported by Adam Stern, he said, “It’s a few-week blip in a long-term relationship with Chase and Hendrick, and he’ll be back driving pretty soon”

Chase is arguably responsible for a large chunk of NAPA’s marketing success through NASCAR, and going against him is not really wise. Josh Berry ensured the car’s presence on the track, but he might have failed to match Elliott’s charisma and at the same time garner attention. In light of this, it looked like the media just wanted to get dirt on Elliott. But as it turns out their plan didn’t work.

Herron addressed the situation in a rather composed manner and promised that Elliott will be seen on the track soon. But the fans couldn’t control their temper and bashed the media with their spearhead comments.

Read More: Chase Elliott’s “4D Chess” Keeps Him Safe as NASCAR’s $400,000 Bombshell Makes Hendrick Motorsports A Laughing Stock

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Fans call out the Media after Kevin Herron’s comments on Chase Elliott

The fans weren’t able to contain themselves, as Herron did. They bashed the media for their stupid and irrelevant questions and commented on Reddit:

“Lol which reporter was fishing for the hot take of NAPA thinking about leaving the sport over an accident. Good for NAPA shooting that down”

“Did anyone seriously think they’d get that mad bc chase got injured in an accident. They have been with him for like 10 years and just signed a long term extension last year”

“Why was this even a question posed to NAPA in the first place?”

“So they can write a story for clicks”

“What answer was this idiot (not Stern, the guy who initially asked the question) fishing for? ‘No, Chase should have been forced to drive with a broken leg’. ‘No, Chase should have been fired for getting hurt’. ‘No, our driver got hurt so we’re leaving the sport’. I swear the media asks some ASTONISHINGLY stupid questions sometimes, and it’s refreshing when it gets thrown back at them.”

Watch This Story: “Expected it to be a little more respectful”- Chase Elliott’s COTA replacement vents his frustrations after final restart chaos turned his Cup Series debut into a nightmare

In this case, the media wanted NAPA to go against their driving force, which was absurd. But if we come back to the sporting aspect of it, how long do you think before Elliott makes a roaring comeback? Are you excited to see him back in action?