NASCAR: Chase Elliott contract extension becomes even more obvious
By Asher Fair
Hooters signed a three-year extension to continue sponsoring the #9 Chevrolet of Chase Elliott through the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Hendrick Motorsports announced on Thursday that Hooters will be continuing their relationship with 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott and the #9 team.
The restaurant chain has agreed to continue serving as the primary sponsor of the #9 Chevrolet for three races each season through 2024.
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But Elliott himself has not yet signed a deal to compete beyond the upcoming season.
The 26-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia native is set to enter a contract year with Hendrick Motorsports this coming February, having extended his contract through the 2022 season back in June 2017.
However, another contract extension appears to be nothing but a formality at this point, according to team owner Rick Hendrick.
Hendrick Motorsports earlier today announced a three-year extension of the Hooters deal to sponsor Chase Elliott through 2024. I asked Rick Hendrick if that means he has signed Chase Elliott to an extension (Elliott’s deal runs through 2022). Hendrick: “That’s the plan.”
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) December 3, 2021
And we’re not going to pretend like there was ever any doubt in the first place.
When Elliott, who has now won the Most Popular Driver Award in all four seasons since the retirement of 15-time award winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., signed his extension through 2022 as a second-year driver back in 2017, he was still driving the #24 Chevrolet and had yet to win a race.
In fact, he was more than a full year away from earning his first career victory at Watkins Glen International.
But since then, he has put together four consecutive seasons with multiple victories, something that no other driver in the series can say.
The only other active streak of this nature is three seasons long and belongs to Denny Hamlin. None of the 2021 season’s other five multi-race winners won more than once in 2020.
Elliott has won 13 races during this span, including a career-high five during his championship-winning 2020 season. Of his 13 career victories, six are playoff wins, including three in 2020.
With no doubts about their plans for Elliott, it appears as though Hendrick Motorsports’ driver lineup is locked in for the foreseeable future. Both Kyle Larson, the reigning series champion, and Alex Bowman are already under contract through the 2023 season.
William Byron is in a situation similar to that of Elliott. He is only under contract through the 2022 season, but Liberty University has already extended its deal to sponsor his #24 Chevrolet for 12 races per season through 2026. So again, an extension appears to be only a matter of when and not if.
Given the extension of Hooters through 2024 and the fact that Hendrick Motorsports have not yet officially extended anybody beyond 2023, expect a contract extension for Elliott to run through 2024.
Notably, primary sponsor NAPA Auto Parts remains under contract through 2022 as well, so perhaps an announcement could coincide with them extending their deal.
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The 2022 season is scheduled to begin in roughly two and a half months with the 64th annual Daytona 500. This race is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 20.