Chase Elliott's return to winning ways sparks fascinating NASCAR debate

It wasn't all that long ago that everybody was wondering what was wrong with Chase Elliott.

Prior to late June 2025, he had won one NASCAR Cup Series race in the past two and a half seasons. He hadn't led the most laps in an event or qualified on the pole since 2022. This was all despite driving for Hendrick Motorsports, which was racking up wins left and right with Kyle Larson and William Byron.

Now? In the past 30 races, Elliott has found victory lane four times, including on Sunday in the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. The rest of Hendrick has done so only twice, both with Byron. In 2026, the No. 9 team has both wins for the organization, which is otherwise having its worst season in nearly a decade.

Is Elliott now Hendrick's best driver? Yes, and no.

Chase Elliott knows how to get the most out of his equipment, and it's paying off this year

Recency bias is one heck of a drug. After three years of acting like Elliott was just Paul Menard in a Hendrick car, we're now revising history and pretending he's been better than Larson this entire time.

In a way though, maybe he has been. And in another way, Larson is still unequivocally better.

Elliott and Larson have vastly different skillsets. The two-time champion races every lap like it's the last one and is known for his dominance in bursts. If you give him a winning car, he's probably going to lead 300 laps. If you give him a 10th place car, he's probably going to overdrive and wreck it, as he did this past weekend.

Elliott is more methodical. Throughout his career, most of his wins have been by way of coming alive in the closing stages and pouncing on chaos. If every driver has equal equipment and you want someone to demolish the field, you're taking Larson. If you want someone to find a way to win with a fifth-place car, you're taking the eight-time Most Popular Driver.

Right now, Hendrick's situation is one that favors Elliott, and it's why he's putting up better results than his teammates this season. What Larson and especially Byron are struggling with this year is what the second-generation star has struggled with since 2023. But he has had four years to learn how to make the most out of second-tier speed, and now it's paying off.

All in all, the debate between Larson and Elliott has no correct answer. They're both better at different things. The former is the more talented, but the latter is more refined.

At the very least, this season should put to rest any notion that Elliott is underachieving at Hendrick. After three years of being forced to grind out results while his No. 9 team lagged behind the No. 5 and No. 24, he's now the one carrying the organization.

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