NASCAR: Chase Elliott was ready to go to college before it all aligned

Chase Elliott was prepared to go to college before the right opportunity arose and turned him into a full-time NASCAR driver in 2014.

Chase Elliott is in his eighth season as a full-time NASCAR national series driver and his sixth season as a full-time driver at the Cup level.

The reigning series champion, who secured his 12th career victory, sixth career road course victory and first victory of the 2021 season this past Sunday in a rain-shortened event at Circuit of the Americas, recently spoke on the Jim Rome Show about his win and his career up to this point.

Elliott competed in the Xfinity Series in 2014 and 2015, winning the 2014 championship, before replacing four-time Cup Series champion and 93-time race winner Jeff Gordon behind the wheel of the #24 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports ahead of the 2016 season.

After the 2017 season, the team introduced the number 9 and moved Elliott to the #9 Chevrolet. He got his first three wins in 2018 before adding three more in 2019 and then adding five more and the championship in 2020, just his fifth season at the sport’s top level.

But it wasn’t necessarily a given that Elliott would end up here just because he is the son of the legendary Bill Elliott, who won 44 races and a championship of his own.

In fact, Chase, who graduated from King’s Ridge Christian School in Alpharetta, Georgia in May 2014, was ready to go to college before he become a full-time NASCAR driver, and he may well have only raced part-time while attending school if everything didn’t align.

“Everything had to align at the right time,” the 25-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia native told Jim Rome. “Fortunately for me, they did. We were in a position there where we had a partner and they weren’t coming back the next year, and I was going into my senior year of high school. Obviously that’s a time of your life where you kind of want to figure out what’s next.

“At the end of 2013, I was prepared either way. I was ready to go to college the next year if I was going to race part-time, that was discussed. And then if NAPA came on board we were going to have a full-time season in 2014, and that was really the opportunity that allowed me to get to Cup and end up here at HMS and be where I’m at now.”

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NAPA is still on board as his main primary sponsor to this day, and he won the 2020 championship at Phoenix Raceway in a NAPA-sponsored #9 Chevrolet Camaro.

“It really comes back to NAPA. I know we as NASCAR drivers are always talking about our sponsors, but it’s for good reason. It’s because those folks really pave the way and allow opportunities for us drivers that we wouldn’t have otherwise. And NAPA was really that company for me and has been since.

“We’ve had a great partnership and we’ve had a lot of success together in a short time — a lot of success that I’m not sure any of us were prepared for or would’ve thought we would’ve had at this juncture. But they were the ones that opened the door, and Mr. Hendrick for allowing me to be a part of his team and welcoming me with open arms.

“Everything came together at the right time. I feel like racing is about good timing and good people, and I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of both throughout my career. I’m very appreciate of all of them.”

The full interview can be found here.

Elliott is set to go for redemption in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway this Sunday, May 30 after losing the win in NASCAR’s longest race last season as a result of a late caution flag. This race is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET.