Chase Elliott has finally returned to action in the NASCAR Cup Series after suffering a fractured left tibia in a snowboarding accident ahead of the race weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Elliott, 27, ended up missing six races overall.
The 27-year-old driver returned to action at Martinsville Speedway and battled to a 10th-place finish. Then, Elliott won Stage 1 at Talladega Superspeedway the next week before finishing in 12th place amid a chaotic overtime finish.
Elliott has been pretty active since returning and that continued when he took part in a tire test with Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After the test, the driver of the No. 9 car provided an honest review of the possible changes ahead and more.
Related: Chase Elliott reveals details about his snowboarding accident, leg injury, and more
Chase Elliott provides honest answers on improving NASCAR’s packages and increasing horsepower
Due to the recovery time, Elliott has only competed at one short track with the new package. It was a struggle for most of the race at Martinsville Speedway but it was likely because he had just returned to NASCAR.
This might be part of the reason why Elliott taking part in this tire test is beneficial. The Hendrick Motorsports driver does not have as much on-track time compared to other drivers to start the year.
It also is beneficial for NASCAR and the teams because Elliott has a major voice in the garage area due to his success and popularity. When the 27-year-old driver speaks, a lot of people in the garage area will listen to him.
Elliott was asked after the tire test at New Hampshire if the new aerodynamic and tire changes would be able to make up the difference of not having enough horsepower and whether NASCAR would increase the horsepower during the 2023 season.
“No, no. It’s not going to change it a whole lot, I don’t think. Not unless they narrow the tire or something…I think you’re a pretty big step change from something as drastic as an engine change and they’re obviously not going to shrink the tire size…I don’t see (increased horsepower this season) happening. The problem is the drivers say one thing and you have engine shops, and budgets, and things. I don’t really see where having a little more horsepower is going to change the bottom line that much…To me, if you’re increasing your entertainment value on track, it might be worth a little bit extra on the bottom line to benefit everybody.”
Chase Elliott on the status of NASCAR’s packages and horsepower
This was pretty notable to hear that Elliott thinks it won’t really change the way that short tracks are raced this season. He has been outgoing about the problems with the NextGen car dating back to last season when there were safety concerns.
Elliott was also vocal about the horsepower situation. The Hendrick Motorsports driver believes horsepower should be raised but it can’t be a small amount. To fix the issues that NASCAR currently faces, it needs to be a significant amount.
Meanwhile, Bell, who was sitting right next to Elliott, said “everything that we are doing is just a bandaid for the gutless engines that we have today.” It is easy to tell that both drivers want to see a change as they represent the future of NASCAR.
Hopefully, the voice of a Cup Series champion and the sport’s most popular driver can help steer the ship in the right direction. Elliott wants what is best for NASCAR but it might take some push from the drivers to make it happen.
In the meantime, whether you are watching it live or looking for how to watch NASCAR on TV or another streaming platform, Sportsnaut has you covered for the upcoming weekend at Dover Motor Speedway!