NASCAR: Five most overhyped Cup Series drivers
By Asher Fair
#3 – Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24 Chevrolet
I feel guilty putting Chase Elliott this high up on this list after he came just over one mile away from winning his first Cup Series race at Dover and he racked up another 2nd place finish at Charlotte, giving him three 2nd place finishes in the first four playoff races. However, here he is.
When Jeff Gordon, who is 3rd on the all-time NASCAR wins list with 93 victories, tied for third on the all-time Daytona 500 wins list with three victories, and 4th on the all-time NASCAR championships list with four titles, retired, he left the seat of the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet open for a new driver.
That new driver was a 20-year-old by the name of Chase Elliott. Chase is the son of Bill Elliott, who was one of the all-time greatest NASCAR drivers after he won 44 races, two Daytona 500 races and one championship in his illustrious career.
In two seasons as a full-time driver, Chase Elliott has not lived up to the hype. In 71 career races, of which 66 have come during his time as a full-time driver, Elliott has not won a single race. His career-high finish is 2nd place, a result he has recorded that six times throughout his career thus far. However, as referenced above, three of those six top 2 finishes have come over the course of the last four races.
When Elliott got his full-time ride with Hendrick Motorsports last season, there was a lot of hype surrounding him. In fact, at 20 years old, before he had even made his debut as a full-time driver, he was already one of the most popular drivers in the Cup Series.
And for good reasons, too. After all, he is the son of the legendary Bill Elliott and he was replacing the legendary Jeff Gordon in the iconic #24 Chevrolet. However, the best reason for a driver to be extremely popular is that driver having lots of success, which Chase Elliott has not had thus far in his Cup Series career even despite the fact that he is driving for the team that has won 12 of the last 22 championships, thus making him overhyped, at least so far; he is still only 21 years old and should have lots of time to become a star, and he has been in the playoffs in both of his full-time seasons thus far.