2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion and Dawsonville native Chase Elliott was born and bred to be a racing champ. His father, 1988 champion Bill Elliott, and his wife, Cindy, have carefully planned each step of their son’s career on and off the track. Chase has not ever lived in a non-racing household and has not ever lived out of the limelight. After all, Bill Elliott won NASCAR’s “Most Popular Driver Award” 16 times over his storied career.
So one might expect a rich kid and son of a NASCAR Hall of Famer, who has raced since just after he was in diapers (practically) to drive on the regular byways with a sense of high-octane entitlement. Not so.
I have gotten to know Elliott ever since he began his late-model, short-track racing career in 2009 at the young age of 13. I was a pit reporter and announcer and did some other media work and podcasts with him, and Elliott has always struck me as down to Earth and level headed, despite his lofty lot in life.
Elliott made an appearance at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta last Wednesday to help Atlanta Motor Speedway promote its July 9th and 10th NASCAR race weekend. A lifetime Georgia Bulldogs and Atlanta Braves fan, Elliott’s 2020 trophy was on display alongside the Dawgs’ college football National Championship trophy and the Braves’ World Series hardware. Elliott did a photo op with these crown jewels of Atlanta sports, signed autographs for fans and then did a 15-minute Q&A with me on the stage for the fans.
Though I mostly stuck with racing questions, I couldn’t go five minutes without sliding in a traffic query. I asked Elliott, who still lives north of his hometown of Dawsonville, how he deals with Atlanta traffic and the traffic in Charlotte, where his Hendrick Motorsports race team is based. And then I asked how he manages driving a street car, after driving fast and aggressively in a NASCAR race.
Everyday drivers should take Elliott’s advice
“I try to stay out of Charlotte and I try to stay north of Atlanta when I have the choice. So, that’s the best way to avoid traffic — to not get in the city limits, if you can,” Elliott said.
This may be the most obvious advice and it isn’t an option for people whose jobs and lives are in urban areas. But Metro Atlanta’s suburban city centers have remade themselves in recent years, offering ripe choices for dining, entertainment, shopping and jobs that don’t require funneling into Downtown Atlanta. COVID-induced remote working has also kept people from the city-driving fray.
Elliott has always preferred the laidback life in the mountains, intentionally choosing to live near his hometown rather than near his industry’s center or in some posh city space. Like his father, Elliott is also a pilot and chooses to fly to the Charlotte area for his team meetings, an option very few of us have.
Nonetheless, Elliott has planned his life very literally around not being in traffic. That doesn’t just happen.
One would expect that a wealthy, successful, 26-year old NASCAR driver would have a bit of trouble obeying the big black numbers on the big white speed limit signs. Not so.
“Honestly, though, I’m a pretty slow driver,” Elliott answered. The crowd started chuckling. “I know it’s probably not all that exciting, but I just kind of cruise on the roads. I get my kicks in on the weekends, so I’m good.”
Several people applauded and continued to laugh at the rest of Elliott’s answer. “I’ve gotten a ticket before and when you start paying for your own insurance and stuff it’s not worth it. I’m just gonna cruise and keep the insurance [rates] flat lined and not have any tickets or incidents. That’s my goal.”
I had to ask what Elliott’s ticket was for. He didn’t have a broken tail light. “I was speeding. And it wasn’t even that bad. It was like a 72 in a 65. The guy was not being very nice.”
I then asked Elliott if he tried to throw his celebrity around at this juncture. Charlotte, NASCAR’s capital, might be the place he is most recognized outside of Dawsonville and the Atlanta area. Elliott then unfurled more of his road wisdom. “No. I did not. That’s a good way to go to jail. I’m hoping I don’t run into that guy again, because he’s definitely not a fan.”
Pushing back against an officer. Throwing some rank after getting pulled over for breaking the law. Don’t do that.
Elliott literally raced cars 10 years before he could legally drive on Georgia’s roads. His number one mentor, his dad, is an elite racing champion. Another Elliott mentor, seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, is one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time. If anyone could handle driving a passenger car 30 over the speed limit, while pulling off tight lane changes and last minute turns, Elliott can. But he doesn’t.
Now NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, the younger Elliott could certainly have pulled the “Do you know who I am?” card on the officer who clocked him a seven over the speed limit. He didn’t.
You might know where this is going: If Chase Elliott can go from driving bumper-to-bumper at 200 mph on a racetrack and with millions watching to holding a passenger car’s wheel sensibly, then we can, too. That kind of restraint doesn’t happen by accident.
The seventh-year Cup Series driver has 15 victories, a championship, and a long-term contract with one of NASCAR’s top teams. One mistake could turn that all on a dime. A series of bad decisions can derail a train to greatness. Slow and steady wins the race.
Doug Turnbull, the PM drive Skycopter anchor for Triple Team Traffic on 95.5 WSB, is the Gridlock Guy. He also hosts a traffic podcast with Smilin’ Mark McKay on wsbradio.com. Contact him at Doug.Turnbull@cmg.com.
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