Chase Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports head into New Hampshire Motor Speedway with an important question to answer: was their strong Richmond Raceway showing the beginning of a turnaround, or simply a one-week improvement?
Elliott’s fifth-place finish at Richmond ended a difficult stretch for the No. 9 Chevrolet driver. After starting the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season with seven top-10 finishes and two victories in his first 11 races, Elliott endured nine consecutive races without a top-10 result.
His performance at Richmond provided a timely boost as Hendrick Motorsports prepares for the final stages of the regular season.
Chase Elliott Finds Form at Richmond
Elliott’s fifth-place result at Richmond was his best finish since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in May. More importantly, it came during a weekend when all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished inside the top 10.
Kyle Larson finished sixth, William Byron was ninth and Alex Bowman took 10th.
It was the first time all four Hendrick cars had recorded top-10 finishes in the same race since Talladega Superspeedway in April 2025. That collective performance could be more significant than any individual finishing position.
For Elliott, the result was particularly encouraging after a career-long nine-race run outside the top 10.
New Hampshire Provides a Different Challenge
The upcoming race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway presents a valuable test for Hendrick Motorsports because it offers one of the final opportunities to evaluate the team’s traditional oval-track performance before the postseason.
The 1.058-mile, flat oval is known as the “Magic Mile.” Drivers must manage speed, balance, track position and race execution over 301 laps, making it a useful measuring stick for Hendrick’s recent progress.
Unlike Daytona, which can be heavily influenced by drafting and pack racing, New Hampshire should provide a clearer indication of whether Hendrick has genuinely improved its race pace.
That makes the weekend particularly important for Elliott and his teammates.
Elliott Has Shown Potential at Loudon
New Hampshire has not been Elliott’s strongest statistical track. He has recorded four top-10 finishes in 12 starts there, his lowest top-10 rate among tracks where he has competed more than 10 times.
However, his results also demonstrate that he can compete near the front.
Elliott finished second at New Hampshire in 2022. He also won the pole and led 41 laps in 2024 before finishing outside the top five. Last season, he started deep in the field but worked his way forward to finish fifth.
That history suggests Elliott has enough speed at Loudon to contend if Hendrick gives him a competitive car.
Hendrick Motorsports Still Has Ground to Make Up
Despite Elliott’s two victories early in the 2026 season, Hendrick Motorsports has not matched its impressive 2025 production.
Through 24 races, Hendrick had six wins at the same point last year. This season, the organization has two victories from Elliott.
The team’s top-five finishes have also fallen from 32 to 21, while its top-10 total has dropped from 52 to 37. Hendrick has led 1,073 laps this season compared with 2,328 through the same point in 2025.
The team has also experienced more DNFs, increasing from eight at this stage last season to 13 in 2026.
Those numbers explain why a strong finish at Richmond was viewed as an encouraging sign rather than proof that Hendrick had completely solved its problems.
New Hampshire Could Confirm the Richmond Improvement
The biggest question entering the New Hampshire race is consistency.
A single strong weekend can happen for a variety of reasons. But if Elliott, Larson, Byron and Bowman can once again run near the front, collect stage points and maintain competitive pace, it would suggest Richmond was more than an isolated result.
For Elliott, another top-10 finish would be especially valuable. He is already locked into the Chase, but building momentum before the postseason could dramatically change the outlook for the No. 9 team.
Elliott’s early-season victories showed that Hendrick still has race-winning potential. The challenge now is turning occasional flashes of speed into sustained performance.
Elliott Remains a Key Part of Hendrick’s Championship Hopes
Even during his midseason slump, Elliott remained one of Hendrick Motorsports’ most important championship contenders.
His two victories provide a strong foundation heading into the postseason, while his recent fifth-place result gives the No. 9 team something positive to build upon.
A strong New Hampshire performance could also provide valuable momentum heading into Daytona and the start of the Chase.
Hendrick does not necessarily need to win at Loudon to prove it has recovered. Another weekend with multiple cars inside the top 10 could be just as meaningful.
What to Watch at New Hampshire
For Chase Elliott, the main focus will be whether he can maintain the speed he showed at Richmond.
A top-five finish would strengthen the argument that his recent struggles are behind him. A top-10 result would still represent useful momentum. More importantly, running competitively throughout the race would provide Hendrick with evidence that its recent improvements are genuine.
The organization also has a long-standing challenge at New Hampshire. Hendrick’s most recent Cup Series victory at the track came in 2012 with Kasey Kahne.
Since then, Hendrick drivers have repeatedly come close without returning to Victory Lane.
Last year, William Byron finished third, Elliott fifth and Larson seventh. That performance demonstrated that Hendrick can compete at the track, even if converting that speed into a win has remained elusive.
Final Outlook
Chase Elliott enters New Hampshire with renewed momentum after finally breaking his nine-race top-10 drought at Richmond.
The result came at an ideal time for Hendrick Motorsports, which needs to determine whether its recent struggles are fading before the postseason arrives.
New Hampshire offers the perfect opportunity to find out.
If Elliott and his teammates once again show strong pace across the entire race, Richmond could be remembered as the moment Hendrick’s 2026 season began to turn around. If the organization struggles again, Richmond may instead look like a brief exception during an otherwise inconsistent campaign.
For Elliott, however, the objective is clear: keep building momentum and arrive at the Chase with the No. 9 Chevrolet looking like the race-winning contender it appeared to be earlier in the season
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