The current season has been bittersweet for Hendrick Motorsports and owner Rick Hendrick. Bitter because two of his star drivers fell out of playoff contention. And sweet because the other two are very much in the run for the Cup Series title championship. And after hitting the 300-win mark in the top-tier NASCAR series, Rick Hendrick is perhaps feeling better. But his experienced eyes did not miss the fact that Chase Elliott has continuously been trying to prove himself in the postseason owner’s championship battle.

After Kyle Larson‘s dominant run and William Byron‘s 6th victory of the season, Rick Hendrick felt ecstatic. He fought off tears as he spoke to Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports about his feelings about how Chase Elliott has been running in the last few races.

Rick Hendrick finally gives his green flag to Chase Elliott’s rebound efforts

Chase Elliott’s playoff hopes faded away entirely after his #9 Chevy suffered from a fuel issue on lap 55 of the Cup Series race at Watkins Glen last month. While fans bashed his crew chief Alan Gustafson, Chase did not point fingers at anyone and took it as a chance to learn. Safe to say, since then, Chase Elliott and the number 9 NAPA team have been able to regain their lost momentum slowly, but steadily.

To top it off, he was able to get his car into the owner’s championship aspect of the playoff rumble. And he has not disappointed Rick Hendrick entirely. In all three races of the first playoff round, Chase bagged respectable top 10 positions. Back to Daytona, a race where Ryan Preece flipped 10 times and Brad Keselowski’s #6 Ford supposedly caught fire, Chase finished 4th and kept the hopes for the #9 Chevrolet Camaro alive.

After finishing 11th in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400, Chase Elliott took home 36 precious points and the praises of his 74-year-old boss.

Rick Hendrick said, “Seeing Chase up in the top, came top 5 last two-three races; that’s a good sign for finishing the year strong.”

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“I was hot and when I got off the box, my knees were weak after watching that. You’d think I’ve done this a lot; not supposed to bother you that much. But anybody tells you that, it doesn’t shake you…when your cars are bound for the lead, they are lying,” he added with a smile of relief on his face.

Chase Elliott is by far the most popular driver of NASCAR right now. And that was evident from the comments that his fans left below his recent post.

Fans cheer up their Golden Boy and urge him to hope for the best

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From getting injured during a snowboarding accident to his car running out of fuel, poor luck shrouded Chase Elliott’s 2023 journey. And that was no different during the qualifying laps in Texas. Chase Elliott’s qualifying run got him nothing better than a 29th spot, almost at the back of the field. However, his step-up from that to an 11th-place finish is indeed praiseworthy.

When Chase posted a few snaps of his newly designed sky-blue Kelley Blue Book car, fans showered words of encouragement on the Georgia native.

A fan said, “You did well…you don’t suck either. This is a team sport & everyone on your team has responsibility for how everything goes.”

While another wrote, “Don’t beat yourself up champ! Came from the back of the field to having a shot at the win. Win or lose that doesn’t change anything! Keep your head up we all know you and @Hendrick9Team are capable of winning and will do just that! #di9 always 🫡”

On that note, an HMS fan typed, “You fought hard today@chaseelliott. So proud of you.”

“You did great today. You don’t owe anyone an apology. ♥️🙏🏻♥️” said another.

It impressed a motorsport enthusiast at how Chase Elliott and the number 9 team ran the race. They exclaimed, “Solid performance by you and the entire team today. Loved the strategy play and great management of the pit stops from that less than ideal box.”

Meanwhile, someone wrote, “I pulled for your dad through thick and thin and I would do the exact same thing for you . I know you got it covered.”

We hope that Chase Elliott finds his championship-winning demeanor back again before NASCAR rolls out into the 2024 season. Let’s just cross our fingers and say ‘Amen’ to that.

Read more: Emotional Rick Hendrick Gets Candid on Hendrick Motorsports Milestone Achievement: “Never Thinking We’d Get to 269”