NASCAR fans are left praying for Chase Elliott to leave Rick Hendrick after Cheeky Kyle Larson fueled the fire.
On May 28, Tony Stewart and Gene Haas announced the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of the season. On June 20, Gene Haas declared that he will keep one of the four charters. And on June 21, it was reported that Chase Briscoe would not be driving for the Haas Factory Team in 2025. However, it was not the SHR driver who confirmed this. It was his future teammate. That was startling enough, but Kyle Larson’s reaction was even more surprising.
Here’s the story. With Martin Truex Jr announcing his retirement from full-time Cup Series racing at the end of the season, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell was asked about his potential role as the team leader during the pre-race interview at NHMS. That’s when the #20 driver almost pulled a Tom Holland. Bell name-dropped “Chase” joining the team, saying, “I don’t think there really is a leadership role in that aspect, and whenever Chase comes into the car…”
Now, we know that in the NASCAR Cup Series, there are two Chases: Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe. Conventional wisdom and logic imply that Briscoe is the person Bell referred to and will join JGR and drive the #19 Toyota. However, since the 29-year-old didn’t specify which Chase, an obvious question arose: Are Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and William Byron losing their best buddy at Hendrick Motorsports despite having his best run this season? No matter how sarcastically, the #5 driver’s tweet sure suggested it.
In an attempt to make light of Christopher Bell’s slip-up, Kyle Larson didn’t miss out on an opportunity to tease his teammate. He wrote, “Wishing @chaseelliott the best on his new adventure at @JoeGibbsRacing. Have enjoyed you as a teammate! Good Luck #d19” The winningest team’s drivers have been together for almost four years now and are undoubtedly putting their best foot forward. While Bowman and Byron joined in 2018, NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver is the HMS’ veteran.’
Chase Elliott started with Hendrick Motorsports in 2016, driving the #24 Chevrolet before moving to the #9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in 2018. Kyle Larson, the newest member of the team, joined in 2021. Notably, they all have enjoyed varying degrees of success at the organization during this stint. After Kyle Larson decided to take Bell’s words in a different direction, it started an entire movement on the internet – fans wanting Chase Elliott to leave Hendrick Motorsports, and some even suggesting the best pair-up for the #5 driver. Crazy, right?
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