BUY TICKETS: See the races at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Chase Elliott wasn’t even a glimmer in father and Hall of Famer Bill Elliott’s eye when the elder Elliott drove the No. 9 Ford at 212.809 mph during qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway on April 30, 1987.
That blistering-fast speed — run before restrictor plates were implemented at superspeedways — remains the track record today.
And 30 years later, the younger Elliott is honoring his father’s accomplishment by wearing a special pair of Alpine Stars racing shoes for this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Talladega.
“The shoes, I’m pretty excited about them,” Elliott said Friday at Talladega. “Thirty years ago this weekend, Dad ran 212 here, which I think is really, really cool.”
Like his father’s original racing shoes, Elliott’s new kicks are red, white and gold. On one side, the shoes read “World’s Fastest Race Car” along with Bill Elliott’s name. On the other, the 212.809 mph speed and Elliott No. 9 car number are written. But while Elliott’s shoes resemble his famous father’s from the iconic 212 mph lap around ‘Dega, his No. 24 Chevrolet isn’t quite the same.
“I don’t know that I could handle it, but I would definitely try for sure,” Elliott said lightheartedly when asked if he’d run his father’s 212 mph car wide-open. “I’d love to give it a shot. But I don’t know that I would have what it takes to hold it wide-open.
“I mean, that’s not easy, back then. They laid the spoiler back; I remember dad telling me stories, they basically just kept leaning it back until they he just couldn’t take it anymore. That was how they figured out when to stop. He just kept pushing limits until he couldn’t drive it, which is pretty cool, really.”