CUP: Chasing Elliot
Bill Elliot has taken on a few more jobs along with his part-time gig driving the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford...
Bill Elliot, driver of the #21 Motorcraft Ford, drives during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo: John Harrelson/Getty Images)
Elliott said he’s learning a lot from competing against short track veterans like Jason Hogan and Jeff Choquette.
“They’re a bunch of good guys to race with,” he said.
Bill Elliott, talking on the phone and shifting gears at the same time, said he couldn’t be more pleased with his son’s progress.
“He’s doing a really good job,” he said. “At Lanier, only three of the positions he gained were from cars dropping out, and only one car passed him.”
And the elder Elliott said he’s gotten to be a better spotter after a shaky start at Valdosta.
“I didn’t see one spin down in [Turns] Three and Four,” he said. “I was too busy watching Chase.”
If the Elliotts make it through Anderson unscathed, they plan to point the Freightliner south and head to Montgomery, Ala., to compete on the legendary half-mile oval that once hosted races for the division now known as Sprint Cup and is reopening after being closed for several seasons. Bill Elliott said he plans to run his son in as many Late Model races as possible this year. And he’s trying to keep everyone realistic as possible after such a strong start.
“He’ll have his ups and downs,” Elliott said. “But he’s keeping his nose clean and doing a good job. That’s the most important part.”
Chase Elliott has time to be patient career-wise. It’ll be three more years before he can even drive on the highway and even longer before he can run in any of NASCAR’s elite divisions, where he hopes to be competing one day.
But he doesn’t seem to be in a rush – to drive in NASCAR or a street car.
“I’m going to be excited to turn 16,” he said. “I love driving and racing, but 16 will come soon enough.”
Rick Minter is a veteran, award-winning sports journalist who joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1991 covering motorsports as well as serving as a bureau chief. From 2000-2008 Minter focused on racing exclusively, traveling the NASCAR circuit as the paper’s motorsports writer. www.RacinToday.com
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel
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