Atlanta Motor Speedway launches ‘good luck’ campaign for Chase Elliott

The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season could be the year Chase Elliott turns consistently strong finishes into long-awaited victories. Especially if horseshoes, lucky pennies, four-leaf clovers and rabbit’s feet have anything to do with it. Atlanta Motor Speedway -- Elliott’s home track -- will gather up all the luck for Elliott this year, collecting various good luck charms from race fans across the country to aid Elliott in nabbing his first Cup win. Track personnel will present the items to Elliott on Feb. 13, ahead of the Folds of Honor QuickTrip (Feb. 25, 2 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the Hampton, Georgia, speedway. RELATED: Elliott excited to drive No. 9 | Sponsor re-ups with Elliott, Hendrick Perhaps another good luck charm is the No. 9; this marks the first season that Elliott will pilot the No. 9 ride in the Monster Energy Series, which his Hall of Fame father Bill Elliott drove in 38 of his career 44 wins and his 1988 championship during his storied career. “We had a lot of ups and downs and a couple missed opportunities (in 2017)," Elliott said in a track press release. "But I think we have to take them for what they are and learn from them. I am looking forward to 2018. We have some great things to build on, and I am excited to get back behind the wheel of the No. 9. It's a good fit for me - kind of feels like home." The track also ran the same good-luck promotion in 1983 for the elder Elliott, who didn’t secure his first win until his 116th start in the series. Current Atlanta Motor Speedway president Ed Clark, who was serving as the public relations director at Charlotte Motor Speeedway at the time, organized the campaign at Charlotte toward the end of the ’83 season. It seemed to work; in the series’ season finale at Riverside International Raceway, “Awesome Bill” finally broke through for his first win. "The promotion we came up with for Bill in '83 created an amazing amount of interest and support from fans all over the country," Clark said in a track press release. "We received package after package full of good-luck charms, and it seemed like everybody was pulling for him to get that first win." Like father, like son? Time will tell if the good luck charms bring the same fortune to Elliott this year, as he preps for his third full-time season in the Monster Energy Series.