NASCAR: Chase Elliott deal leaves one seat open for 2023
By Asher Fair
With Chase Elliott now under contract through the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports have just one more driver to sign for next year.
Chase Elliott had been under contract with Hendrick Motorsports through the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season since June 2017.
So with Elliott technically entering the 2022 season as a pending free agent for next year, there had been ongoing talks about a potential contract extension to keep the driver of the #9 Chevrolet with the team through 2023 and beyond. It was always seen as a matter of when, not if.
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The two sides were said to be making progress toward a new deal over the offseason, and just before the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway this past weekend, it was announced that Hendrick Motorsports had signed Elliott to a five-year contract extension that runs through the 2027 season, which would be his 12th full season in the Cup Series.
As a result, Rick Hendrick’s team now have just one seat to fill for next year, and it’s no secret who they want to fill it.
William Byron is in his fifth season driving the #24 Chevrolet for the team, and he has been under contract through the 2022 season since 2020. Without a new deal, he is the only one of the team’s four drivers not under contract to compete through 2023.
Similar things were said about Byron and Hendrick Motorsports over the offseason as far as the progression of contract talks, but there has not yet been any announcement of a new deal for the driver of the #24 Chevrolet.
But yet again, this appears to be a simple matter of when, not if.
As for the team’s other two drivers, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman both signed extensions last year to remain with the team through the 2023 season, driving the #5 Chevrolet and the #48 Chevrolet, respectively.
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All in all, don’t expect Hendrick Motorsports’ driver lineup to look any different next year than it does this year. After making the silly season move of the decade two offseasons ago by signing Larson, expect the four-car team to be absent from silly season talk for years to come given their current lineup, featuring four talented drivers under the age of 30.