"It weighs on him" - Kevin Harvick on pitfalls of Chase Elliott's position as NASCAR's most popular driver

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott has long been voted as the sport's most popular driver, owing to his driving style as well as family background. The Hendrick Motorsports driver recently shot back into the limelight after a hiatus from victory lane that lasted 42 races long.

The #9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver managed to clinch the checkered flag in first position during NASCAR's visit to Texas Motor Speedway last weekend. Ending a drought that lasted for 42 events ever since his fateful injury during the start of the 2023 season, Chase Elliott seems to be back to winning ways since last Sunday.

Former Cup Series champion and driver-turned-broadcaster Kevin Harvick recently spoke on how being one of the most prominent figures in the sport might have affected the Dawsonville native during his dry spell. Harvick elaborated on Elliott's mental psyche on his popular podcast Harvick Happy Hour:

"Huge win for our sport. We all need him to be successful and sometimes he feels that pressure and I would assume that it probably weighs on him a little bit. He's had a ton of things that have weighed on him really over the last couple of years with his injury, getting suspended, switching to the new car."

Kevin Harvick also acknowledged how Chase Elliott did not shy away from discussing his issues with NASCAR's Next Gen Cup cars introduced from the 2022 season onwards. Harvick applauded the team for sticking by Elliott during these moments and added:

"The thing that I love about this particular situation is the fact that there was no crew chief change, there was no team change. It was just 'Hey we're going to work through this and we're going to figure out what it takes to get you through this.' I'm happy that that winless streak is over."

Whether or not Chase Elliott lets the moniker of the sport's most popular driver weigh him down or not, it has to be playing in his mind somewhere in the background.

What are Chase Elliott's odds of winning the upcoming NASCAR Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway?

In what would be a dream scenario for NASCAR if Chase Elliott manages to bring home back-to-back victories for Hendrick Motorsports, the #11 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver's odds heading into the 2024 GEICO 500 certainly look favorable.

Sitting outside the top 5 with 11-1 chances of visiting victory lane, Elliott can be on for a great run of races after a confidence boost last Sunday in Texas.

Surrounded by drivers such as Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, it remains to be seen how well the 28-year-old driver performs this weekend.