Photo credit — Chase Elliott‘s Instagram @chaseelliott9
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At only 19 years old, Chase Elliott already has a NASCAR XFINITY Series championship, is currently contending for a second one and has a pretty sweet job lined up next year taking over the iconic No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for retiring four-time Sprint Cup Series champ Jeff Gordon.
Not only has Elliott’s racing career taken off, he has too — literally — having just earned his private pilot license on July 23. And the view from above is something he’s wanted his whole life.
It seems Elliott got more than the racing gene from his father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, as he has inherited the flying bug from his dad, an accomplished and avid aviator.
“He’s been flying a long time so I’ve always been around it since I was little,” Elliott said of his father. “I’ve watched him fly for years and years and been fortunate enough to have access to his planes and sit up front and watch him fly them so I’ve always definitely interested in it.
“It’s one of those things where the more you do it, the more you become interested in it. And the more you get into it, the more intriguing it becomes. I learn something new every time I fly.
“It’s definitely tough to (master all the necessary lessons). A lot of things come along with it. But flying is a privilege and something you can’t take lightly ever.”
A lot of the same traits — discipline, smarts and dedication — Elliott put into his burgeoning racing career he used to earn the pilot license.
He actually started taking lessons while still in high school but it was such a busy time between school, racing and flying lessons that Elliott put off finishing his license until a few months ago with the support of his dad.
“It’s something you work hard for to achieve,” Bill Elliott said. “I see so many people who have gone through a lot of the flying part and the learning curve but never went on and got their pilot licenses and they always regretted it. I told Chase, ‘You need to go on and get this done.’
“I’m glad he did. That’s something he’ll carry with him regardless of where racing takes him.”
The Elliotts join an impressive list of NASCAR drivers who have secured private pilot licenses including Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and retired drivers Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Cale Yarborough and Ricky Rudd. Ryan Newman‘s wife Krissie flies helicopters.
Similarly, Elliott figures having the ability to pilot an airplane can be as much a practicality as it is a luxury. His father helped secure him a Cessna 182 single-engine, four-seater to use and Elliott is eager to start flying to races closer than home. Last week, he flew to Bristol. He has also posted a photo of himself practicing grass landings on Instagram.
“Absolutely, it’s a major convenience if you need to go somewhere, you can turn a four-hour drive into an hour-and-a-half flight,” Elliott said. “Time is valuable for anybody and any chance to make up time like that is great.”
Elliott wasn’t sure if he would fly himself to this weekend’s XFINITY Series race at Road America, but he is looking forward to the stand-alone road race regardless.
It’s the third road course race in the last four weeks for the series and Elliott is one of the series regulars who embraces the opportunity to turn right.
He is on a six-race run of top-10 finishes in his No. 9 NAPA Chevy and currently trails championship leader Chris Buescher by 23 points in the standings. He has finishes of seventh (Watkins Glen) and fifth (Mid-Ohio) in the two road races this year and finished fourth at Road America last season.
“I thought last year was a good learning experience,” Elliott said. “I was really pleased with Watkins Glen. I’m still learning on my end, but thought we had good cars this year and that’s a big step in right direction.”
For Elliott, that direction is up.