Denny Hamlin doesn't think Chase Elliott will get a Cup Series win this season

Denny Hamlin doesn’t believe Chase Elliott will find Victory Lane in 2023.

Of course, Elliott missed some time with an off-track injury, and a suspension for wrecking the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman, but his performance when he’s been racing has been inconsistent as ever. The Hendrick Motorsports star wasn’t able to race his way into the Playoffs, even though he had his chances throughout the season.

Still, Elliott’s season doesn’t end simply because he didn’t make it to the Playoffs. He wants to win, and give his team a bright spot in an otherwise bleak season. But Hamlin doesn’t see that happening.

“I think he’s going to be very close, but no,” Hamlin predicted, via his Actions Detrimental podcast. “I say that cautiously, because he still drives for Hendrick Motorsports. He’s still Chase Elliott. Like, he’s still an upper-echelon, elite driver.

“So it just seems like they’ve, they just got off track a little bit, and a lot of it is you know, he was out for awhile.”

Hamlin believes Elliott and his team simply haven’t been able to get into a rhythm in 2023, and he knows all too well how that feels.

“It takes a while to get in your rhythm,” Hamlin added. “The No. 11 team, me, Denny Hamlin. It takes me a long time, it seems like, to get going in a season, and I’ve participated in all the races this year. It’s just one of the things that’s very unique. Average finish has always been there. For a while this season, he’s had the best average finish. He still finds a way to grind to great finishes, but I’m seeing him run better now. Like, his average running position during the race for the No. 9 car is better.

“So I’m going to say cautiously no, but the Roval. If there’s a chance, the Roval is it for Chase. I just think that I’ve seen him drive from the back to the front at the race-track before, with a car that ran into the tire barrier. So I wouldn’t count him out, for sure.”

Alas, Chase Elliott remains the most popular driver in NASCAR, so he would love to give his fans something to cheer about this season. While Denny Hamlin doesn’t believe it’ll happen, that’s never stopped Elliott before.

The former NASCAR champion will have his chances over the next two months. Whether he makes good on them or not remains to be seen.