A NASCAR Cup Series champion is about to pull double-duty at Bristol Motor Speedway. Chase Elliott will join Spire Motorsports and drive the No. 7 entry during the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt on April 16 (8 p.m. ET, FS1).
Spire Motorsports teased the news on Monday, April 11, with a silhouette of a driver. The Truck Series team asked fans to make their guesses, and several quickly determined that the 2020 Cup Series champion would be the next to take over the Chevrolet Silverado. Spire Motorsports then confirmed the news on April 12 with a look at the entry.
The announcement you have all been waiting for! If you guessed @chaseelliott, then you are RIGHT! Excited to have him driving our No. 7 truck @BMSupdates THIS Saturday!
The No. 7 will have the same HendrickCars.com design that Alex Bowman used at Circuit of the Americas and William Byron took to Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway. However, the entry will feature a NAPA Auto Parts associate partner logo on the truck deck.
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Elliott’s weekend of double-duty will begin on Friday, April 15. He will take part in two practice sessions in the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado before adding two more in the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro. Elliott will then take part in both the Truck Series and Cup Series heat races on April 16 before suiting up for the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt. He will cap off the weekend with the Food City Dirt Race on Sunday, April 17.
Elliott Has Big Driver’s Shoes To Fill
GettyWilliam Byron celebrates a win at Martinsville Speedway.
There have been three different drivers that have controlled the No. 7 entry during Spire Motorsports’ inaugural Truck Series campaign. Austin Hill finished 15th overall at Daytona International Speedway while Alex Bowman finished 25th at Circuit of the Americas after damage on the final lap knocked him out of contention for the win.
William Byron, the most recent driver to suit up for Spire Motorsports, turned in the best performance. He led 94 of the 200 laps at Martinsville Speedway and he won the first Truck Series race in organization history. He then added a second Martinsville clock by winning the Cup Series race two nights later.
Elliott will now take over the No. 7 Chevrolet while making his first start of the 2022 season. He will seek his 14th career top-10 finish, as well as important knowledge about the dirt surface, before suiting up for the Cup Series race.
“Driving the No. 7 Chevy Silverado at Bristol this weekend is definitely something I’m looking forward to,” Elliott said in a press release. “These trucks always look like a lot of fun to race on dirt, and this team has had some great runs this year and put together a solid program in a short amount of time. I’m excited to see what we can go out there and do on Saturday night.”
Elliott Has Limited Experience in the Truck Series
Chase Elliott’s first career NASCAR win came in dramatic fashion at the truck race in Canada in 2013.
While Elliott has championships in both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series, he has far less experience in the Truck Series. He has never run a full season while making only a total of 16 starts over five years.
Elliott’s most expansive schedule took place in 2013. He started nine races for Hendrick Motorsports, and he posted seven top-10 finishes. Elliott also won his first career Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park after spinning Ty Dillon’s No. 3 into the tires on the final turn.
Elliott has three Truck Series wins in his career, including one during the 2020 season. He joined GMS Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26, 2020. He started 26th overall, but he raced his way to the front of the pack and took the lead from Johnny Sauter during the final run to the checkered flag. Elliott held off Kyle Busch at the end and won his third career Truck Series race.
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Spire Motorsports Adds Cup Series Champ for Bristol Dirt