Should Chase Elliott And Alex Bowman Be Worried About Missing The Playoffs?
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Hendrick Motorsports is not accustomed to missing the NASCAR Playoffs. Ever since the induction of the postseason back in 2004, the organization has been a staple of late season performance, winning nine championships between Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson. One of those drivers, Elliott, currently sits far below the playoff cutline, as does his teammate Alex Bowman. Rick Hendrick having two cars on the outside looking in this late in the season is an anomaly to say the least. So how did we get here, and should the drivers of the 9 and 48 machines be worried about not qualifying for the postseason at all?
Let’s start with Chase Elliott. His season started off fine, recording a second place finish to Kyle Busch at Auto Club speedway in the second race of the year. But before the cars took the track at Las Vegas the following week, Elliott suffered a fractured tibia in a snowboarding accident. The injury took him out of the car for the next six events as his leg healed and he rehabbed to get back into race-shape. Elliott returned to the Cup Series for round nine at Martinsville, but by then he had already plummeted in the points standings, and he ended his return-weekend in 32nd place in the playoff picture.
Over the next four races, the Dawsonville native clawed his way up to 28th position overall, recording two top tens and non finish worse than 12th. But at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coke 600, Elliott lost his cool with Denny Hamlin after the driver of the 11 car squeezed him into the wall coming off of turn four. Chase hung a left down the straightaway, and hooked Hamlin head-on into the outside wall, causing a vicious collision that took both drivers out of the race. Many people called for a suspension due to the dangerous and intentional nature of Elliott’s action, and sure enough, NASCAR mandated he step out of his car for the following race in St. Louis. This became Chase’s seventh missed race of the season, and he missed a valuable opportunity to make up more points on the playoff cut line.
And in the four races since his suspension, Elliott has looked strong, but not as strong as we’re accustomed to. Three top five finishes and a 13th place at Atlanta is impressive without a doubt, but the driver of the 9 car is used to having winning speed week in and week out, which he is yet to show since his return. In fact, he hasn’t contended for very many wins at all this year. Currently, Elliot sits 23rd in points, and is 60 points behind the cutline. With every week that passes, it becomes more and more likely that he will have to win a race to make the playoffs, as making up 60 points in seven weeks is a daunting task even for a driver of his caliber.
Now let’s talk about Alex Bowman. His season got off to a great start, as despite having no wins, he was the points leader after the sixth round of the season. But, after the next event at Richmond Raceway, he and his teammate William Byron were hit with a 60 point penalty from NASCAR that dropped Bowman down to seventh in the standings. By the end of the Talladega race, he had fallen to ninth.
But just like his teammate Chase Elliott, an injury would create a major setback in his season. Bowman suffered a fractured vertebra in a sprint car accident before the race weekend at Dover, and it caused him to miss the following three events. All of a sudden, Bowman had gone from leading the points to being right on the cutline. His return at the Coke 600 and the following few races saw the 48 team net some decent results, but they never showed the same speed that other Hendrick teams such as Kyle Larson and William Byron had. Things really went south at the Chicago street race and Atlanta, where Bowman finished 37th and 26, respectively. Now, the Tucson, Arizona native is right next to Chase Elliott in the standings, sitting 44 points behind the cutoff line in 22nd place at the moment.
So, should the two struggling Hendrick drivers be worried about the playoffs? Even though they are both below 20th in points currently, both of them undoubtedly still have their eyes on the postseason. The good news for Elliott and Bowman is that they are still driving for Hendrick Motorsports, one of the best teams in the Cup Series, if not the best. Both of these drivers have won many races in their careers; Chase Elliott has even won a championship. Both men know how to win and the highest level, and have proven that they are phenomenal wheelmen.
The bad news is that they have a lot of ground to make up. Trying to point their way in with only seven races left will be difficult, and winning a race is never easy when you’re going against the top stock car racers in the country. Bowman and Elliott have very little margin for error, as one or two more poor finishes will likely put them too far back to make up the points needed. The two of them will need to score big stage points almost every race, and bring home consistent top ten finishes if they want to make it in on points. Of course, grabbing a victory would automatically lock them in, but neither driver has shown race winning speed in months. It certainly is still very possible that both Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman make their way into the NASCAR Playoffs, but time is ticking, so if they’re going to make it happen, they better do it quickly.
