Chase Elliott has been compared to the likes of Jeff Gordon and is the reigning Cup Series champion but has not won a race since last season and has reached Victory Lane just once since 2023

Chase Elliott has left the decision about the future of his No. 9 team up to the Hendrick Motorsports bosses as he declared: “We show up and we fight every week and we’ll keep doing that until someone tells us to stop”.

Despite consistently solid performances, Elliott is feeling the heat with only one trip to Victory Lane since 2023, and questions are swirling around his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, amid calls for potential replacements at Hendrick Motorsports. Meanwhile, one of his $12.6 billion sponsors recently backed a Kyle Larson career move.

In an exclusive with Express U.S. Sports earlier in the season, Elliott stood firmly by Gustafson’s side. And Elliott continued to reiterate he’s committed to keeping things business as usual with the No. 9 until the time comes when Hendrick Motorsports opts for a shakeup, despite some fans calling for a rising star to take his seat.

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Speaking on Amazon Prime Video’s pre-race show at Michigan, Elliott opened up about the growth of the team through tough times, urging fans to appreciate their dedication. Addressing inquiries by Corey LaJoie regarding his dialogue with Gustafson on needing to dominate races, Elliott responded: “We do, for sure. And, you know, for us, man we’ve worked so hard at it, just trying to chip away.

“I think Alan deserves a lot of credit for just helping to manage this entire process, because there’s a lot to it.

“Look, there is no one here, and we have some great race fans and I appreciate them, but there is no one here who wants to perform as much as we do.

“And we put a lot of effort and work into that, and I think that’s always important to remember because we miught not be the flashiest work but we sure do care a lot.

“And we care a lot about each other too. I think it’s important that we’ve stuck together through this, and I think there is light at the end of the tunnel somewhere.

“I also think we’re gonna be way better for it once we do get on the other side, because we’ve had to learn some hard lessons, and we’ve learned them together, and those things matter.

“So I’m looking forward to, whatever the journey brings, we show up and we fight every week and we’ll keep doing that until someone tells us to stop.”

Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team came away with a 12th-place finish in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It was the sixth time in 15 races this season that they have finished 12th or better. And they picked up six Stage points thanks to a fifth-place finish in the opening Stage.

Berry, driving a Mustang Dark Horse painted to resemble the Mercury that Cale Yarborough and the Wood Brothers put in Victory Lane at the first-ever NASCAR race at Michigan, lined up seventh for the start of the 400-miler.

He ran in the top five throughout the first 45-lap Stage, ending that segment in fifth place.

The second Stage, which saw four caution flags for incidents involving other drivers, didn’t work out in the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team’s favor. After restarting in 11th place, Berry dropped as low as 30th in the running order before climbing back to 17th at the end of the Stage.

In the third and final segment of the race, Berry quickly worked his way back into the top 10, but his Mustang wasn’t as fast on the last set of tires and he lost several spots in the closing laps, finally taking the checkered flag in 12th place.

Berry and the team now switch to road-racing mode as they prepare for next Sunday’s Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

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What’s Happening?

NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps has confirmed the sport is “very close” to bringing in a fifth manufacturer. This comes just after Ram announced its official return to the Truck Series and Dodge plans to return to the Cup Series. While no official name has been disclosed, sources strongly suggest Honda is the leading candidate. If the deal moves forward, a potential debut is targeted for 2027. The last manufacturer to join the Cup Series was Toyota in 2007, and since Dodge left, following the 2012 season, NASCAR has had three manufacturers – Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota.

• Honda’s presence in motorsports, particularly in IndyCar and Formula 1, makes it a natural candidate for NASCAR expansion.
• NASCAR’s current rules require manufacturers to submit bodywork for approval two years in advance, meaning a 2026 debut would require formal action by September 2024. Given Honda’s ongoing IndyCar commitments through 2026, a 2027 Cup Series entry is the most realistic scenario.
• Brad Keselowski has reportedly been involved in discussions with Honda, and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing has emerged as a potential team partner if a deal materializes. While no team alignment has been confirmed, garage speculation continues to focus on RFK as a landing spot.
• NASCAR is also using this opportunity to work closely with current and potential OEMs on hybrid engine development, which is expected to arrive soon. Honda’s hybrid experience could give it a technical advantage in the early planning, making a return more attractive.
• Chuck Schifsky, manager of Honda and Acura Motorsports, confirmed that Honda continues to explore multiple options for its future in U.S. Motorsports. Still, Honda has no news to share at this time.
• Fan and industry reaction has been broadly positive, with most seeing Honda as a great addition to the field. The move could help diversify the grid, increase global relevance, and spark renewed interest in manufacturer competition, helping increase the number of overall viewers and fans.

What other manufacturers would you like to see join the sport? Let us know your thoughts on our Discord or X. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

• Denny Hamlin won his 57th Cup Series race Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
• NASCAR’s Cup and Xfinity Series head to Mexico City for road course races next weekend.

Denny Hamlin was driving like a man in a hurry Sunday at Michigan. 

““Look, there is no one here, and we have some great race fans and I appreciate them, but there is no one here who wants to perform as much as we do.

“And we put a lot of effort and work into that, and I think that’s always important to remember because we might not do the flashiest work, but we sure do care a lot.”

And that message was particularly notable given what transpired in the race, with fans flooding replies to the final result posted by his Hendrick No.9 Team account to demand changes, not for the first time.

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“When is enough enough?” One fan asked. “AG should’ve been replaced years ago”, while another replied: “No more excuses, Alan needs to be fired. Enough is enough”.

Another fan said: “This was easily the worst display of team effort and coordination in a hot minute. (Sorry @Hendrick9Team admin for being the punching-bag for all this for so long)” and another added: “Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Drastic changes need to come to this team”. 

Despite the calls for change growing among his fanbase, Elliott’s post-race interview, consistent with all his comments on his team, indicate he is firmly backing Gustafson and wants his fans to do the same. 

American SpeedFest 12 brought a pair of NASCAR Euro Series wins for Gianmarco Ercoli, while a large crowd cheered Jack Davidson to a maiden podium at his home event.

Champion in 2023, when he scored a similar double at the series’ annual visit to Brands Hatch, Ercoli had only one podium finish in the opening two weekends of 2025. But the Italian’s Ford Mustang set a blistering pace in two-lap superpole qualifying, 0.421 seconds faster than reigning champion Vittorio Ghirelli’s Chevrolet Camaro. A smaller margin separated the next eight drivers.

Ercoli was never headed in Saturday’s opener as British hero Davidson – a second-tier winner last year – starred. Starting fourth, Davidson hung on around the outside of the Druids hairpin and capitalised on the inside line for Graham Hill Bend to pass both Ghirelli and Liam Hezemans.

It took Ghirelli until almost half-distance to find a way back past the Scot. And when a backmarker separated him from Ercoli under a late caution period it was effectively game over. Davidson lost out at a messy restart but others’ penalties returned his third place.

Best lap times in Saturday’s race set Sunday’s grid, leaving Ercoli and Ghirelli on row two behind Hezemans and Paul Jouffreau. The Frenchman, points leader entering the event, was on his third engine of a trying weekend. He lost out to Ercoli at the start before the action was halted by a heavy accident involving local driver Max Marzorati that caused barrier damage.

After a single-file restart, Hezemans withstood Ercoli’s pressure, with Jouffreau and Ghirelli in tow, for three-quarters of the 38 laps. Even then, only fuel-pump failure denied the Dutchman, who was unavoidably rear-ended by Ercoli before the Italian swept by. “I think in this moment we can change the way of the championship,” reflected Ercoli.

Hezemans led the second race until fuel-pump woes intervened

Photo by: Gary Hawkins

Amid Hezemans’ demise, Ghirelli pounced to snatch second as Jouffreau hesitated. Two podiums were a fine reward for Ghirelli’s PK Carsport crew who had worked all night on Friday to completely rebuild his car after a huge testing accident – following suspension failure – with second-tier Open series driver Thomas Dombrowski at the wheel.

“We had to change every single piece of the car, weld the chassis, cut it, weld it again…” said 2013 Auto GP champion Ghirelli. “Really grateful for PK for their hard work.”

Saturday’s Open series contest descended into chaos as a cloudburst engulfed the circuit during the green-flag laps and halted racing after one tour as power surges disrupted circuit communications. Local man Matthew Ellis swept from fourth to first within half a lap of the resumption and held sway until a trip through the Paddock Hill gravel with five laps remaining. Thomas Toffel, of Yvan Muller’s M Racing team, and Melvin de Groot shot past, with de Groot then demoting Toffel a lap later for his maiden win as Ellis fell to eighth.

Martin Doubek robustly rebuffed fellow double-duty driver Thomas Krasonis to win Sunday’s slightly shortened race after Ellis’s engine blew and left a skating rink atop Paddock Hill.

“Christ, that was hard work,” puffed Tim Davis after winning the popular Ford vs Chevy contest’s opener in his Corvette. Fellow Bowtie marque representative Jake Swann (Camaro) topped qualifying as Davis experimented with taking Druids in third gear, avoiding second’s perilously close positioning to reverse on his 1969 C3’s H-pattern ’box.

Swann’s 1966 machine – dominant interloper in the wet Corvette celebration race two years ago – built an early lead before back-up-to-speed 2024 winner Davis closed in and seized the opportunity to run three-wide past a backmarker on Cooper Straight and snatch a decisive lead.

Swann and Davis shared the Ford vs Chevy spoils

Photo by: Gary Hawkins

Early pacesetter Swann held on in Sunday’s rematch, truncated by Patrick Doyle’s open-top Corvette heavily collecting the spinning Ford Boss Mustang of Chad Donner. Among a field of incredible earth-shaking machinery, the Ford team might have fared better but for Donner’s misfortune. He qualified second, only to be pushed off the grid with a flat battery. Sunday’s charge from the back took him to sixth before the Mustang’s front-right tyre deflated – a cut from debris suspected – as he braked for Paddock.

John Young’s Mustang was left as best Ford, narrowly beaten to third by Ray Barrow’s Camaro on Saturday before exacting revenge a day later.

Michael Saunders took his recently rebuilt ex-Lee Caroline TVR Tuscan – title winner in 2003-04 – to a near half-minute victory in the opening Bernie’s V8s bout before its differential failed as he sought a repeat. Sam Wilson therefore came through from eighth on the partially-reversed grid to snare victory in Rikki Cann’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage, repaired after a collision at Pembrey last month. Matthew Ellis, now aboard dad Martyn’s nippy Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, was homing in as the flag fell having cleared Guy Carter (Tuscan) and Swann, who’d switched to a matching 2019 NASCAR Camaro (ex-Ryan Preece).

After champion Dale Gent won an opening Pickup Trucks race with little green-flag running, David O’Regan triumphed twice. The first boiled down to a four-lap dash after a safety car; Gent overhauled Michael Smith on the penultimate tour, with O’Regan following, before the Irishman worked an opening at Clearways and left Gent tumbling to eighth.

Both Mark Willis (throttle cable) and Allen Cooper (sick engine) hit trouble while leading an attritional finale, while Gent’s dog-eared truck was called in after crossing swords with the Hadfield brothers. This meant O’Regan’s mid-race pass of Jonathan Hadfield ultimately proved decisive.

Delight turned to despair for SpeedFest Silhouettes day-one winner Ray Harris, when a driveshaft failed on his Ginetta G40 on the rolling lap of Sunday’s race. Harris had overcome the early challenge of Colin Smith’s similar car for his victory, and it was Smith who won on Sunday – but only after Reuben Taylor was penalised for an earlier pass under yellow flags.

Six typically close Legends races produced six different winners and a widest victory margin of just 0.107s when Oli Schlup held off Connor Mills in Saturday’s wet final. Mills edged Tyler Read in Sunday’s final, while heat wins went to Read, Chris Needham, Jack Parker and Peter Barrable.

The Legends contests were typically close

Photo by: Gary Hawkins