Chase Elliott

He recently entered into the NASCAR’s top division, but many are predicting bright future to Chase Elliott in the Cup Series. The 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion made a debut in the Cup Series in 2015, having his first full season with Hendrick Motorsports in 2016.

He started the 2016 season with pole position at Daytona 500. Next year, Elliott was again on the pole at NASCAR's greatest race. Then, in 2018, he finally scored his maiden Cup Series victory at Watkins Glen. Since then, he collected six Cup Series wins.

Son and father - Chase and Bill Elliott

The son of a famous father

William Clyde Elliott II, what is Chase’s full name, was born on November 28, 1995 in Dawsonville, Georgia, and since childhood caught the eye of many by his achievements in the lower ranks of motorsports. The talent was obvious from the start of his career but that is not a surprise knowing that his father is Bill Elliott who the Sprint Cup title in 1988 and was named as one of the NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

Early days

Chase Elliott started his career in go-karts when he was 8 years old. Later switched to the late models racing. He set new standards after becoming the youngest champion in the various regional and national championships. In November of 2013, he became the first driver who won country’s four major short-track races – the All American 400, the Snowball Derby, the Winchester 400, and the World Crown 300.

Preparations for NASCAR top divisions

In 2011 Chase signed a development contract with Hendrick Motorsports and started his preparations for the top NASCAR divisions. At the same time, Elliot has competed in the K&N Pro Series East and finished 9th in his rookie season. In the following year, he won his first race at Iowa Speedway while at the end of the season he was 4th. He also raced in six ARCA Series events and had three Top 5 finishes.

Chase Elliott

Debut in the Truck Series

Probably not experienced and matured enough, Chase Elliot got a chance to test himself in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2013. He was driving in five races and became the Series youngest ever driver who won a pole position and later also managed to win one race, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, again becoming the youngest ever winner in the history of Truck Series. The same year Elliott again had a couple of appearances in the ARCA Series and did pretty well, winning one out of five races.

Driving a #94 Chevrolet in the Truck Series

Chase won 2014 Nationwide Series title

In 2014 Chase was driving JR Motorsports’ #9 Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series. Elliott had an impressive season in which he a bit surprisingly became a champion. He won the races at Texas, Darlington, and Chicagoland. He also scored 11 Top 5 finishes and other 10 finishes in Top 10 to claim the title in his rookie season, ahead of Regan Smith and Elliott Sadler.

Chase Elliott celebrates victory at Darlington

Chase stayed in the series for 2015 campaign and was close to defending his crown. He won only one race, at Richmond but had many numerous finishes in Top and Top 10. At the end, it wasn’t enough for another title, so Elliot finished 2nd, losing to Chris Buescher by only 15 points.

Sprint Cup debut

That was Chase’s last full season in the Xfinity Series. During the 2015 campaign, he got a chance to drive Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolet #25 in five Sprint Cup races. Elliott debuted at Martinsville where he finished 39th. In the following race at Richmond, Elliott took 16th place what was his best result that year. Later in the season, he finished 18th at Charlotte and Indianapolis while in his last appearing that year, Chase was 41st at Darlington.

At Bristol, 2016

Two pole positions at Daytona 500

Since 2016, Chase Elliott is a full-time Sprint Cup driver, racing in the #24 Chevy. On his Daytona 500 debut, Chase won the pole position with a speed of almost 316 km/h but in the race he was 37th. Despite being unable to score a win until the mid-season, Chase had some notable performances. He twice finished 2nd at Michigan and had many Top 10 finishes, taking the Rookie of the Year award.

In 2017, Elliott was again on the pole at Daytona 500. This time, he ended a race in the 14th place. Later in the season, he was close to his maiden victory few times, finishing in the second place five times. At the end of the season, he was fifth in the points.

Chase Elliott is celebrating his maiden Cup Series victory at Watkins Glen

Three victories in 2018 and three more in 2019

In 2018, Elliott wasn't on a pole position at Daytona 500 but he managed to score his maiden Cup Series victory, in August at Watkins Glen. Then, in October, he added two more wins to his account, at Dover and Kansas. He was among top 8 drivers in the Cup Series Playoffs, finishing sixth in the points at the end of the season.

In 2019, Elliott visited Victory Lane three times, winning at Talladega, Watkins Glen and Charlotte Roval. He finished the season tenth in the poinst.

Elliott's future in NASCAR Cup looks bright

His performances so far were recognized by SportsPro Magazine which marked Chase as one of the Top 50 Most Marketable Athletes in the World. By ESPN he was named as one of the hottest prospects in the NASCAR. Elliott’s hobbies are snowboarding, wakeboarding, dirt bike races, and enjoys following his hometown Atlanta Braves baseball team, as well the college football team Georgia Bulldogs.

Video - Chase Elliott behind the scenes

Photo: newslocker.com sportingnews.com chaseelliott.com fuelsmg.com