Chase Elliott entered the Chase as Hendrick Motorsports’ only race winner in 2026, yet it could have been a season of so much more for the former Cup Series champion. Amid the organization’s collective struggles, it would have been easy to overlook just how quickly Elliott slipped down the standings. Much of that came down to mistakes from Elliott and his team, leaving the driver somewhat relieved to get through last Sunday’s Kansas race by doing the absolute bare minimum.

Elliott finished the Hollywood Casino 400 in eighth, his best result of the Chase so far. After the race, journalist Tim Moore asked the Hendrick Motorsports driver about his thoughts heading into the next race at Las Vegas and the rest of the Chase.

“Just try and stack some good days together. Obviously, you know, nice to get a top ten, nice to not, you know, make any super dumb mistakes today, at least no huge ones,” Elliott replied to Moore, as per a clip shared on X.

After 14th place in Darlington, 31st in Gateway, and 23rd in Bristol, Kansas was where his real push up the standings was truly supposed to get into gear, following a solid drive from the No. 9 driver. But instead, he dropped down to 13th in the overall standings, which shows just how bad a post-season he’s had so far.

In the opener in Darlington, a slow pit stop from his crew, caused by a miscommunication, sent him back into traffic, something he couldn’t recover from while already battling a difficult-to-handle car. The very next weekend at Gateway, his brake rotor failed, followed by an off-pace showing at Bristol, where he ran several laps down before spinning late in the race.

Kansas provided a decent recovery for Elliott, at least in terms of rebuilding some confidence. Starting 18th, he finished eighth in Stage 1, 11th in Stage 2 and eighth overall, earning 32 points. Right now, his goal isn’t to dream about a Cup Series title by the time he reaches Homestead. For Vegas, it’s simply about building on this result and continuing to move in the right direction.

“And yeah, see how we can turn those into consistent runs. How can we take a top ten and turn the top five and do it regularly and then you know, you’ll get your opportunities from there,” Elliott continued in the same interview with Moore.

The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver admitted that a big positive from the race was avoiding the kind of errors that have cost the team and derailed their promising runs in the last few months.

Elliott started 2026 on a high note, winning at both Martinsville and Texas. By May, he sat third in the standings with five top-five finishes and looked like an early title contender, especially as his fellow HMS drivers struggled with the handling of Chevrolet’s car, which had been a major limitation throughout the year. But then, the fall began.

Elliott and his team also hurt themselves with a series of mistakes, both on the track and on pit road. At Michigan, Elliott admitted he had “stepped over the line” after getting loose underneath Christopher Bell. In an aggressive attempt to save the car, he overcorrected and sharply turned his No. 9 Chevrolet to the right. The move triggered a violent, fiery wreck that sent both drivers into the wall at nearly 200 mph, destroying both cars.

Then, during a tough summer stretch, Elliott admitted that handling problems and mistakes behind the wheel were costing him valuable points. It eventually turned into one of the worst slumps of his career, as he went nine straight races without a top-10 finish.

The drought lasted more than two months before he finally ended it at Richmond, where he finished fifth. He eventually entered the Chase seeded 8th, and had a mixed stance regarding whether he had a real shot at winning the championship before Darlington.

“I think we can (contend for the title) if we stack things at the right time and obviously get some things going our way. I think some of those really strong performances. I’m encouraged by that just from the standpoint of it wasn’t that long ago, and nothing has really changed since then other than decisions you make going into the week,” he said in an interview, per NASCAR media.

Elliott’s approach of taking things one race at a time and building on each result could be important for Hendrick Motorsports. The team has found success elsewhere, with Kyle Larson now leading, but the No. 9 group has struggled to find the consistency needed to stay near the front.

Elliott currently sits 161 points behind Larson, leaving him with plenty of ground to make up. Still, the Chase can change quickly. Larson scored 76 points at Kansas alone, showing how much a strong result can shift the standings. And for Elliott, a race win could be the fastest way back into the championship fight.

The next opportunity comes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a track where Elliott has historically struggled. He has no wins in Nevada and an average finish of 18.4. However, he can draw some confidence from his runner-up finish at the track in March. If he can build on that performance, it could give the 2020 Cup Series champion the boost he needs to reignite his title hopes.

The P8 result may not have carried the excitement of the victory he celebrated in Kansas last year, but it represented an important step forward. After months of inconsistency, avoiding mistakes and stacking solid finishes together is the priority. If these small victories continue to add up, Elliott believes the bigger opportunities will eventually follow.