Chase Elliott slams himself over challenging Southern 500 run: "I’m sorry. I suck"

Hendrick Motorsports Ace Chase Elliott had a tough outing during the Cook Out Southern 500 held at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, August 31, 2025. He faced a series of challenges in the qualifying session, and his struggles followed him to the main event.

The #9 Chevy driver had an unsatisfactory qualifying session and began the race one spot behind Trackhouse Racing's rookie driver, Shane van Gisbergen. Elliott started the race from P21 with a lap time of 29.23 seconds and a top speed of 168.26 mph. Additionally, he was 0.53 seconds behind the pole-sitter and Toyota driver Denny Hamlin.

Moving to the main event, Chase Elliott finished stage one in P19 and fell two spots during stage two. He also made repetitive contact with Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar, had an issue during the pit stop, and went a lap down. Recalling all the instances, the HMS driver told his team (via Jeff Gluck on X):

“F*ck me, man. Sorry. "What was that?" "I'm sorry. I suck. Killed the back end."

Jeff Gluck

@jeff_gluck

Chase Elliott: "Fuck me, man. Sorry." "What was that?" "I'm sorry. I suck. Killed the back end."

Despite being a playoff driver, Chase Elliott wrapped up the 367-lap race in P17, costing him valuable points. He currently ranks eleventh in the Cup Series playoff standings with a nine-point buffer above the cutoff line. Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe won his second race of the season, leading 309 laps and earning 60 points.

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"I'm doing my part": Chase Elliott candidly shared what mattered to him during his winless drought

Earlier this season, former NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott was featured on the Dale Jr. Download podcast with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on YouTube. During the podcast, Elliott touched upon his winless drought and shared the thought process he followed during that time.

The #9 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver won the Texas Motor Speedway race early in the 2024 season. Since then, he was on a winless streak until the second Atlanta Motor Speedway race this season. He also won the non-points-paying race, The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, but it was not enough to secure a spot in the playoffs. Recalling his winless stretch, Elliott told Dale Earnhardt Jr.:

"Man, we've just been doing this long enough to know, like, it all kind of starts and ends with us. We have to make sure we're doing our part, and I'm doing my part and just bringing everything I can possibly bring every single week. It's the honest conversations that we have on Monday mornings that are either going to make us better or make us fail. All of the pieces of the puzzle are there. We're working on the right things. I think I'm asking for the right things out of the car. I'm really proud of our team for just sticking together."

Chase Elliott currently ranks 11th in the Cup Series points table with 2033 points to his credit. He secured one win, seven top-five finishes, and 13 top-ten finishes in 27 starts this season. Additionally, Elliott has led 393 laps and has one DNF in the 2025 Cup Series season so far.