More woes for Chase Elliott. With every passing weekend, the 2020 Cup Series champion gears up to deliver a breathtaking performance, either to win or up his points considerably, only to succumb to the usual trend of things this season. He tried his hand at Michigan International Speedway, but unfortunately, it ended his run prematurely.

Elliott started in the fifth row alongside 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace, who in a similar fashion has struggled for playoff points this season. One would expect Elliott to be vying for a top-5 position at this point, considering his skills and the demands of the present times. But it looks like the #9 Camaro won’t be coming out of the garage again in the race.

Chase Elliott continues his winless streak at Michigan

Michigan hasn’t been exactly a sort of kryptonite for Elliott. But what is worth noticing is that in 12 starts at the track since 2016, he has failed to muster a win at the venue. With an average finish of 8.8 at the track, another significant statistic is that he has finished second at the venue three times and all of them in succession but has no wins to his name yet. If there was a time to break the winless streak at Michigan, today couldn’t have been a better time for it. Sadly for Elliott, that isn’t the case.

With a right rear tire failure, the 27-year-old lost control of the car after the tire burst and was left spinning in a no man’s land on the track. Unable to stabilize it, the Camaro went straight into the wall and forced the second caution of the day. The wreck was certainly hard, as he had to retire from the race, taking a measly 36th-place finish from the race.

It was an untimely crash for him, as he was gaining positions gradually. After starting at 10th, he made his way to seventh until the unfortunate spin. Another driver who had a similar fate was Kyle Busch in the #8, who was also forced to retire from the race.

Elliott will have to point his way through to the playoffs with a win now, which is his only chance. Gathering stage points in today’s race would have fared better for him instead of a crash early on. With Watkins Glen as the target, Chase will prepare for next weekend with special caution and zeal.

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NASCAR fandom fears Chase Elliott’s season might be over

“Chase Elliott season collapse 2023,” commented a fan as Elliott’s #9 underwent repairs in the Hendrick Motorsports garage. Being the most popular driver of the last 5 years, Elliott’s fans are in plenty. The same goes for the number of followers that have been against him or at least would prefer him to not win. Well, that’s another side of the sport.

“The 9 car is just laughable how bad they run every week. Wreck or run mid pack every week. Time for a change on the 9 team,” claimed a Twitter user expressing his disbelief over how HMS failed to provide Elliott with better facilities despite being in contention for the playoffs.

“Overrated leave the playoffs to the best,” said another fan throwing shade at Elliott. Looks like some followers have no interest in voicing regrets or words of consolation for him. Another fan commented, “Yeah Watkins Glen is their season” displaying some rare instances of hope in the comment section.

Most comments signaled the precarious situation Chase Elliott is in. In a do-or-die situation and with the car unable to create the needed pace, the task at hand for him looks like a mountain to climb.

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