“He has not been what I think he could be”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. sounds off about Chase Elliott’s NextGen struggles since his accident

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared his thoughts on Chase Elliott’s performance in the NASCAR Cup Series since the introduction of the NextGen car and the latter's snowboarding injury. Dirty Mo Media posted the video on X, in which Earnhardt Jr. pointed out what he believes is holding Elliott back.

In the video, Earnhardt Jr. began by discussing the race at Dover and the decisions made by the No. 9 team. He shared that although Elliott didn’t win, there were positive takeaways. Earnhardt Jr. then moved to the broader issue of Elliott’s performance since his return from a leg injury.

According to him, the leg injury Elliott suffered while snowboarding disrupted not just his season, but also the momentum of the entire No. 9 team. Dale Earnhardt Jr. stressed how difficult it is for a team to recover its rhythm when a driver misses time. The tweet detailing this was captioned as:

“It wasn't perfect, but there are positives the No. 9 can take away from Dover. ➡️”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. mentioned that while Elliott has had some success in the NextGen era, he hasn’t reached the level expected from a former champion. He added Elliott wants to fight for championships every year, but keeping up with the new car has been a struggle.

“Chase Elliott to me, has not been the Chase that I think he could be, since the leg injury in July, when he was snowboarding. You know anytime a driver misses, a lot of times, there's this chance, the team sort of has a hard time getting the traction back, and get going again,” he explained. “Then came the next gen and now he's has some moments where there's been success, but, you know he wins that championship early, and he wants to contend for championships every single year, and he wants to content for more wins right?” Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

The injury in focus here occurred when Elliott broke his leg snowboarding in Colorado after the second race of the season. He had surgery at the Steadman Clinic and missed six races. Josh Berry filled in for him on ovals, while Jordan Taylor ran COTA.

Elliott’s return was met with high expectations, but his results in the NextGen car have been mixed. While he's shown pace, like at Dover, where he led 238 laps and finished sixth, he hasn’t looked fully settled. The pit crew dealt with issues during Stage 2 at Dover, but Elliott recovered well, finishing strong despite multiple cautions and a rain delay.

This was only the fourth time all season that teammate William Byron hadn’t led the points standings. Elliott’s sixth-place finish put him at the top of the table, showing how much potential remains. His run included 48 points, third-most among all drivers at Dover.

---

Chase Elliott, in conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr., explains how he kept going during his winless streak

During a conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Dirty Mo Media, Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott talked about the mental and team effort it took to push through his winless stretch in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Elliott started the year with a win in the non-points Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, but didn’t win a points-paying race until the Quaker State 400, ending a months-long drought since his last win at Texas in April 2024. He told Dale Earnhardt Jr. that the team never gave up, even when things weren’t going their way.

"Man, we've just been doing this long enough to know like it all kind of starts and ends with us," Elliott said. "We have to make sure we're doing our part, and I'm doing my part, and just bringing everything I can possibly bring every single week."

He added that the honest conversations held every Monday were central to improving. According to Elliott, the team stayed united, focusing on doing the right things and supporting each other through tough stretches.

"I think there's been so many times that we could have thrown in the towel... getting back to the top with him and with our group and doing it together. I think is a really important thing," he added.

Elliott now ranks first in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 702 points. In 21 races, he has had one win, 12 top-10 finishes, and seven top-five finishes. He has led 374 laps this season, with an average starting position of 15.81 and an average finish of 10.00.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

Edited by Samya Majumdar