Chase Elliott's summer slump continued at Indianapolis

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team haven't been horrible this summer, but they've looked far from the title contender they appeared to be earlier in the season. 

A flat tire in Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway relegated the 2020 Cup Series champion to a 38th-place finish, marking his eighth consecutive race without a top 10. Elliott last finished top 10 at Nashville on May 31, when he ran seventh. 

Sunday's race was only Elliott's second finish outside of the top-17 in that eight-race stretch, however. A crash at Michigan on June 7 saw Elliott finish 32nd, but he's finished inside the top 17 in the other six races since Nashville. 

Chase Elliott in the middle of a slump

It hasn't been a series of disasters befalling the No. 9 team this summer as much as there's been a lack of winning speed and occasionally, a lack of luck.

Elliott had pace at North Wilkesboro on July 19, running as high as second before an ill-timed caution trapped him a lap down. He finished 17th. He led five laps at Atlanta on July 12 en route to a 13th-place finish. 

In the other races during the summer stretch, the Dawsonville, Ga., native has been extremely quiet, even more so than he usually is. After scoring two wins in the first 11 races, Elliott has gone quiet over the summer. 

Still, he's sixth in the Cup Series standings with four races left in the regular season and is still within striking distance of going into the Chase as a top 5 seed. Things aren't great in the No. 9 camp right now, but they could definitely be much worse.