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Shortly after the Netflix documentary “NASCAR: Full Speed” dropped, it was deemed a monumental success. However, one thing was missing: Chase Elliott, six-time Most Popular Driver Award winner, was nowhere to be found.
It has been a big week for Elliott, who on March 20 revealed the throwback paint scheme his No. 9 car will use at Darlington in May. This was an ode to the 2014 Daytona 500 race-winning scheme that Dale Earnhardt Jr. had on his No. 88 Chevrolet.
As part of the announcement, Elliott joined Earnhardt on his “Dale Jr. Download” podcast on March 20. They discussed tire management at Bristol, his snowboarding accident last year and why he has no desire to be part of the Netflix show.
“I didn’t do it last year,” Elliott said. “I haven’t watched it at all, so I think my step to answering that question would be to watch a little bit of it. Just to see how bad they would piss me off being around all the time.
“It might not be the most popular answer or whatever, but I really just want to go fast and I want to do my job on a high level. If I feel like there’s anything that’s going to take away from that, I’m probably going to say no to it.”
This makes perfect sense considering how bad Elliott’s 2023 season went. He had seven Top 5 finishes last year, and 15 total Top 10s. He went winless, never qualified on pole and led just 195 laps. Those were all career lows for the ninth-year driver.
Elliott has more eyeballs on him than any other driver, and that became even more clear last year when ratings dropped significantly when he missed races.
The fact is, NASCAR needs Elliott more than he needs NASCAR for his brand.
Chase Elliott Redemption Tour
Although he still hasn’t returned to victory lane, Elliott has started the season well. He scored Top 15 finishes in the two superspeedway races to begin the year. He came home 12th at Las Vegas and qualified third at Phoenix. The 2020 Cup champion started fifth and earned an eighth place finish at Bristol.
Those may not be typical numbers that Elliott fans are accustomed to, but they’re headed in the right direction.
Elliott should be one of the favorites this weekend at Circuit of The Americas, running from March 22 to 24. The 28-year-old has seven Cup victories on road courses, trailing only Tony Stewart (eight) and Jeff Gordon (nine) in that category.
A pair of short tracks await after COTA, at Richmond and Martinsville. Elliott has run well at those two tracks and has won at Texas Motor Speedway, which follows those races on the schedule. Rick Hendrick still has elite equipment, and Elliott could soon be the third driver in that stable to win a race.
Old Injuries Now Healed
Elliott talked with Earnhardt about his snowboarding accident, but he also revealed another major injury that he had been dealing with.
“My shoulder has always bothered me for probably 8 or 10 years,” Elliott admitted on the show.
After talking with trainers at Championship Weekend in Phoenix last November, they advised him to get an MRI. Elliott took their advice and was informed that he had a torn labrum. He had off-season surgery to fix that issue and now feels much better.
These are the types of things that Elliott likes to keep behind closed doors. He has no desire to stir up drama or let any distractions — like participating in a Netflix documentary series — keep him from returning to victory lane.
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