For Chase Elliott, the upcoming CARS Tour race at North Wilkesboro Speedway is about much more than adding another event to his busy schedule.
It is a return to the organization where his NASCAR career first took off.
Advertisement
JR Motorsports announced Tuesday that Elliott will drive the No. 8 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour race at North Wilkesboro on July 17. The appearance marks his first race for the organization since 2015 and gives fans a chance to see the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion back behind the wheel for the team that helped launch him into NASCAR stardom.
Chase Elliott reunites with JR Motorsports
Elliott spent the 2014 and 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons driving full-time for JR Motorsports, winning four races and capturing the 2014 championship as a rookie. At just 18 years old, he became the youngest champion in series history, cementing himself as one of NASCAR’s brightest rising stars.
More than a decade later, Elliott will once again represent JR Motorsports, this time in a special one-off CARS Tour event.
Advertisement
The team unveiled the familiar No. 8 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet on social media while announcing the return.
“Going short trackin’ on a Friday Night. Chase Elliott will pilot the No. 8 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Late Model at North Wilkesboro on July 17th,” JR Motorsports wrote.
The No. 8 carries additional significance. It was made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the early years of his Cup Series career, and JR Motorsports has continued using the number throughout the organization’s history.
The July 17 race will also give Elliott an opportunity to compete in one of grassroots racing’s premier events before returning to Cup Series competition the following weekend.
Advertisement
Elliott continues his short-track roots
Although Elliott has become one of NASCAR’s biggest stars, he has never hidden his passion for short-track racing.
His July 17 appearance will be his second career start in the CARS Tour, a series co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Justin Marks that has become one of the country’s top Late Model Stock championships.
The race also allows Elliott to reconnect with the type of racing that shaped his development long before he became a Cup Series champion.
The timing is especially fitting. Elliott will compete at North Wilkesboro on Friday night before returning to Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 9 Chevrolet for the NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at the iconic track for the Window World 450.
For JR Motorsports, the event reunites the organization with one of its most successful former drivers. For Elliott, it is a chance to revisit the place where his national series career truly began.
Read the full article here