Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes Chase Elliott prediction – Sports News
Chase Elliott’s 2025 season didn’t finish with a championship run, however the broader image tells a completely different story to some of NASCAR’s most revered voices.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is amongst those that imagine Elliott has closed the hole on Kyle Larson, and could also be positioned to reclaim Hendrick Motorsports’ high spot as early as 2026.
For three seasons, Larson, who not too long ago offered his unfiltered opinion on NASCAR’s playoff adjustments, has carried the mantle inside Hendrick, highlighted by his 2025 NASCAR Cup Series title. Elliott, in the meantime, has spent that very same stretch making an attempt to rebuild the momentum he held earlier in his profession, together with his 2020 championship peak.
The 2025 marketing campaign moved him additional in that direction: two wins, 11 top-fives, 19 top-tens, and a end inside the highest eight within the standings. It was not the type of dominant output Elliott has been identified for, but it surely was far steadier than his inconsistent 2023 and 2024 efforts.
That consistency is what has Earnhardt Jr. taking discover, and taking a stand. On The Dale Jr. Download, he laid out his perception that the No. 9 workforce has the appropriate mix of stability and upward motion heading into subsequent 12 months.
“Chase Elliott is a champion, and before Larson, he was the guy at Hendrick,” he said. “I’m still holding out. You know, I hope that he gets himself back to the top. They got some work done in that regard this year. I saw some consistency and performance in that team that I think they’ve been looking for.”
Only 4 drivers scored more factors than Elliott from Daytona to Phoenix, a trend that implies he could also be higher suited to NASCAR’s incoming postseason adjustments.
The sport is weighing alterations to its title format starting in 2026, with discussions centered on both a 3-3-4 elimination construction or a straight 10-race championship slate.
“I think the format change could really help that team,” Earnhardt Jr. stated. “I think that, you know, Chase is definitely a guy that you could look at as somebody who could put together the 10 races needed to be right in the mix going into Homestead.”
Under both model, drivers who excel via consistency, not streaky surges, may gain an benefit. Elliott’s current trajectory matches that mould.
Elliott, for his half, didn’t grade his own season as extremely. At a press convention tied to his Most Popular Driver Award, he spoke plainly about 2025 not reaching the usual he expects of himself.
“I think for us, it was okay at times, and really solid at times, but it just wasn’t great,” he stated. “We’ve had some high spots here or there, but certainly not as consistently doing that as what we would like.”
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