Bill Elliott and the late Dale Earnhardt once carried on one of the fiercest rivalries in NASCAR history. Now their sons have teamed up to run for the Nationwide Series championship with Chase Elliott driving a No. 9 Chevrolet owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team, JR Motorsports.
Atlanta-based NAPA will sponsor the team, which will be on the track for the first time this weekend during a test session at Daytona International Speedway.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Chase Elliott, who has been running in the Camping World Truck Series as a developmental driver for Hendrick Motorsports, which works closely with JR Motorsports.
Elliott also said he was proud of the opportunity to represent NAPA, which has had a relationship with the Earnhardt family for most of its time in NASCAR.
“I couldn’t be more excited to work with NAPA and have them behind us,” Elliott said. “Their headquarters are just 30 minutes from my house.”
For Elliott, the chance to run full-time in a major NASCAR circuit comes while he is still in high school. He is a senior at King’s Ridge Christian School in Alpharetta.
“It’s pretty crazy to think about still being in high school and getting to race at this level,” he said.
For those who recall the days when the fathers Elliott and Earnhardt tangled on the race track, the pairing of their sons might seem odd. But Bill Elliott said that putting his son in an Earnhardt car is a perfect match.
“It’s a great opportunity for Chase and for JR Motorsports and it’s good for NASCAR as a whole,” Elliott said, adding that any differences he may have had with the late Earnhardt over the years were only in the heat of battle. “I didn’t always agree with his tactics on the race track, but off the track there were no problems. We both came up in the sport having to work for what we got. I couldn’t be happier.”
Earnhardt Jr. said in a team release that he too appreciates the history the two families share in NASCAR.
“No doubt the historical element of this is pretty cool,” he said. “Bill Elliott is one of the greats. I’ve always looked up to him. He had some great battles with my dad. Certainly the Winston in 1987 is an all-time favorite. It was probably some of the hardest racing you’ll see and it’s fun to watch even to this day.
“I think there are a lot of Elliott fans and Earnhardt fans that will take interest in Chase’s career and support him 100 percent.”
The Elliotts could find themselves drafting together this weekend at Daytona as Bill Elliott plans to substitute for Earnhardt on Saturday.
“I hope the schedule works out so that we can run some together,” Chase Elliott said.
For NAPA, the sponsorship of a driver from the company’s home state brings the auto parts giant back into NASCAR after a brief exit following the race-fixing scandal at Richmond International Raceway involving the sponsor’s former team, Michael Waltrip Racing and driver Martin Truex Jr.
And the deal with Elliott and JR Motorsports positions the company for a long-term relationship with Elliott, who is expected by many to be ready for Sprint Cup competition in a few years.
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