NASCAR XFINITY Series champ will run five Sprint Cup races in 2015
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Before Thursday afternoon's presentation from Hendrick Motorsports, five director's chairs stood empty on the stage, one earmarked for team owner Rick Hendrick and the rest for his four drivers. One chair rested to the side, awaiting its moment to join the group.
In the same way, Chase Elliott has waited for his seat in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. And now his time is just around the corner.
Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that Elliott, the defending NASCAR XFINITY Series champion, will join the sport's premier circuit full-time in 2016 after running a partial schedule of five races this season in the No. 25 Chevrolet. In making the step forward, Elliott, 19, will take over the Hendrick-owned No. 24 Chevrolet made famous by four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who announced last week that this will be his last full-time season in NASCAR's top division.
Elliott said he was informed of his impending promotion to Sprint Cup by a phone call from Hendrick, shortly after Gordon made his intentions known to his team. As big a shock as news of Gordon's decision was, Elliott said the piece of the story involving him was an even bigger stunner.
"That's a phone call I was not expecting that day. That is for sure," Elliott said during the final leg of the annual Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour presented by Technocom. "I didn't know anything about Jeff's announcement until that morning and to have Mr. Hendrick tell me that he wanted me to be that person to go in and drive that car whenever Jeff got done was just an unbelievable phone call -- one that I was not expecting and something that I couldn't have dreamt happening."
News of Elliott's plans comes one day before the induction of his father, Bill Elliott, into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The elder Elliott, the 1988 champion and a 44-time winner in NASCAR's premier series, and his wife, Cindy, have offered support for his son's racing efforts through the Late Model ranks, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and eventually the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series -- a crucial, thoughtful upbringing that weighed heavily into Hendrick's decision to sign the youngster to his team's developmental driver program in 2011.
All the while, the younger Elliott's quick ascent to stock-car fame rejuvenated their small hometown community of Dawsonville, Georgia, which signaled each accomplishment with a shrill blare from siren mounted atop the Dawsonville Pool Room, an area institution and haven of Elliott racing memorabilia. Now the community -- including the father best known as "Awesome Bill" -- has two reasons to be proud on consecutive days.
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"No way," Bill Elliott told NASCAR.com when asked if he thought this moment would come this soon in his son's career. "I mean, you hoped it, you wished it, but for it to actually happen, it's like, 'Wake me up. Am I dreaming or what?' Chase has done a great job, and Mr. Hendrick has just … the man's done everything he said he would do, and I have never met anybody with the integrity that man has."
While the younger Elliott has an appreciation for this father's accomplishments, he's been able to create a new chapter to the family's racing tradition. Now Elliott inherits another legacy, following a legend who has helped forge stock-car racing's identity and direction over the course of a decorated 22-year career in the sport's top series.
Despite both of those rich connections to the racing history, Elliott insists he'll be his own man as he makes his way to the sport's top levels. It's a heady, fresh approach that has commanded Gordon's respect as he prepares to hand over the wheel of the No. 24.
"He's light-years ahead of where I was at 19," Gordon said. "I think Bill, being as experienced as he has been in winning races and the championship, and then Cindy and Bill together, I just think they did an amazing job with this young man, the way he handles himself, the things that he thinks about and the things that he says as well as what he does on the track. He's the total package, and I didn't have that at 19, I didn't. I definitely had a lot of growing up to do, and the Cup Series will help you grow up in a hurry. That's why I'm so excited to watch what he does."
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To help Elliott get acclimated to his first taste of NASCAR's big leagues, the team announced a five-race schedule for 2014. The second-generation driver is slated to make his Sprint Cup debut March 29 at Martinsville Speedway, then compete April 25 at Richmond International Raceway, May 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, July 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Sept. 6 at Darlington Raceway.
Kenny Francis, who moved to the role of vehicle technical director for Hendrick in the offseason, will serve as crew chief for Elliott's five-race slate this season. In 2016, Elliott will work with longtime Hendrick crew chief Alan Gustafson, a 19-time winner in NASCAR's premier series who has been atop the pit box for Gordon for the last four seasons.
While Gustafson has prepared himself for Gordon's last full-fledged shot at NASCAR's top prize, he's also embracing what the future holds with Elliott in 2016.
"With his age and the maturity, you just see a tremendous amount of potential," Gustafson said. "That's the thing that I just think about is the opportunity to really do some amazing things."
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For Ray Evernham, now a consultant for Hendrick Motorsports' competition department, Elliott's move carries extra meaning on several levels. Gordon's growth into a championship-winning driver came with Evernham calling the shots as his first crew chief on the No. 24 team in NASCAR's top series. Evernham later left Hendrick to form his own team, leading the effort to bring Dodge back to NASCAR with Elliott -- driving his familiar No. 9 -- as his lead driver.
To see all those bonds overlap, ultimately leading to Thursday's announcement, brought his involvement full circle.
"For me, it's really a special thing because the two cars that have been special in my life are the 24 and the 9," Evernham told NASCAR.com, "and now rolling those together -- the Elliott family, the Gordon family and the Hendrick family -- it's just amazing when you think of the racing heritage there. … He's surrounded by a lot of people who believe in him that have years of racing experience."
For 2015, Elliott's Sprint Cup entries will carry No. 25, with NAPA -- his XFINITY Series sponsor -- as the primary backer. The team said sponsorship for 2016 would be announced at a later date.
When Gordon announced last Thursday that his days as a full-time driver were coming to an end, speculation on a replacement immediately centered on Elliott, who became the youngest champion in the NASCAR XFINITY Series during his rookie year in 2014. Elliott is entering his second season with JR Motorsports, a team co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with Hendrick affiliations.
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Both Hendrick and Earnhardt said last season that the timing seemed right for Elliott to advance to the top rung in the NASCAR development ladder with a limited Sprint Cup campaign in 2015 before making the full-time jump. The arrangement announced Thursday allows Elliott to make that move while benefiting from another year of seasoning in the XFINITY Series for JRM.
Despite Elliott's age, Hendrick said watching his poise and ability to lead his team gave him no hesitation about making that fateful phone call, just one week ago.
"I am amazed at the maturity he has," Hendrick said. "I just can't believe some of the things that come out of his mouth. When you think he's going to answer it one way, and he just comes up with something totally personal that's from inside. He is so comfortable in his skin. He doesn't feel the pressure of being an Elliott, and he doesn't feel the pressure of being behind Gordon. He wants to be Chase Elliott, not Bill Elliott, not Jeff Gordon. You don't have to talk to him very long to figure that out."