Jimmie Johnson believes Chase Elliott would “figure out” thriving in NASCAR with legendary forces backing the HMS driver

Jimmie Johnson commented on Chase Elliott's recent win in Atlanta and called it 'the start' of a strong turnaround. He expressed confidence in Elliott's support system at Hendrick Motorsports, suggesting that they'll help him find his footing in a car that 'doesn't necessarily fit'.

Elliott has shown flashes of speed throughout this season, and his No.9 team have been competing in the top 10 more often than not. They've even strung together a couple of top-fives in a row.

However, the Georgia native struggled to land the top step until his comeback win at Echopark Speedway(formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). The result marked an end to his 44-race winless drought, all the while bumping him to second in the driver's standings.

In the latest episode of his podcast Never Settle, Johnson took it upon himself to back up Elliott's recent strides.

"You know, the new car doesn't neccessarily fit stylistically, but Chase is gonna figure it out. You know, I think this is the start of many good things to come. With Alan Gustafson as the leader and the support from Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick Chad Knaus, what Hendrick has to offer, they do a really good job of putting their athletes in an environment that they'll thrive in," he said.

"And the relationship between Alan and Chase is an incredible one and this is just what the doctor ordered for those guys," he added.

Notably, HMS' Vice President of Competition, Chad Knaus, was also Johnson's crew chief during his historic run to five consecutive Cup titles, while Alan Gustafson was Chase Elliott's crew chief during his 2020 title run.

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Chase Elliott credits team effort for consistent results

On July 2, 2025, The Athletic reporter Jeff Gluck released an interview with Chase Elliott that was conducted well before his Atlanta win. In the candid interaction, the HMS driver was asked how he's able to land consistent top-10 results, having never finished outside the top-20 either.

"We have a really good team behind the wall, over the wall, and before we get to the racetrack each week. All that stuff ends up making a difference," Chase Elliott replied.

Elliott has posted ten top-10 results across 18 starts, including an average finish of 10. He has scored three consecutive top-5 finishes in the last three races as well. Nonetheless, Elliott's season mostly flew under the radar, as his teammate Kyle Larson notched up three wins while William Byron led the standings ever since his Daytona triumph.

With the Atlanta victory, the Georgia native now moves on to Round 2 of the In-Season Challenge at Chicago, where he'll go head-to-head against John Hunter Nemechek, who hasn't fared better than Elliott in more than 9 of their 47 outings together (since 2022).