Chase Elliott’s racing career started with triumphs at a very young age. He was the youngest driver to win the SpeedFest in 2011 at just 15 years of age. In 2014 he won the Xfinity Championship in his rookie season at just 19 years of age, the youngest to do so there as well. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship winner, recently opened up about his iconic All-American 400 race win at Nashville which etched him into motorsports history.

The All-American 400 race is an iconic race and it is the season finale for the ASA STARS National Tour. Chase Elliott has a special memoir from 2013 that involved a broken track bar before the race. Elliott appeared on the FR8 Racing Driver Roundtable to detail what went down that day in Nashville.

Chase Elliot shares how the broken track bar was discovered

The 2013 victory at the Nashville Speedway would forever remain worth remembering for Chase Elliot. Elliott fondly remembers that he was done with the qualifying session and chilling back when this incident happened. Crew chief Ricky Turner had gone back to do some air checks for the tire when he spotted that track bar in a broken condition. 

Describing the incident, Elliott said, “You know, the race was on a Saturday night or whatever, and there’s always a big gap between the super late model qualifying. They typically do all the local divisions, and then, you know, we’ll go race… it was Ricky or someone, but they had gone over to, you know, check the air in the tires before the race cars had been sitting over there for a while and just noticed the left rear tire was sticking out a little further than it had been. So I crawled underneath it and then realized that it was about a half a lap from breaking off”. 

Chase Elliot was close to winning the title in 2010 as well, but he ended up finishing second to TJ Reaid. In 2013, he qualified at pole but the broken track bar saw him start at the back. The track bar broke during the qualifying practice run and given that the car was not touched after that, it almost went completely unnoticed. But in a display of resilience, teamwork, and strategic brilliance, Elliott overcame the odds to secure a remarkable victory. The team quickly sprang into action, replacing the damaged part before the main event. 

Despite starting from the back, Elliott was able to work his way into the lead in no time. By Lap 149 Elliott was in fourth place and pitted for fresher tires. After surviving multiple cautions and restarts, Elliott took the lead with 30 laps remaining and ended up winning the race. Speaking after his performance, Elliott said, “To come back and get the job done means a ton to me and my family. We put so much effort into this, and it’s great for it to pay off.” This victory put Elliott in a place no one had ever been before.

He became the first driver to win each of the biggest short tracks in the country that year. He marked his dominance at the All-American 400, the Snowball Derby, the World Crown 300, and the Winchester 400. This victory not only cemented Chase Elliott’s place in motorsports history. It also showcased the determination and teamwork that became classic features of Chase Elliott. Now as he strives for excellence in the Cup Series, he opened up on his favorite tracks to race on in an interview with HendrickMotorsports.com. 

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Dover over everything

In 2024, Chase Elliott was not at his best. His lone win came at Texas in April. Despite a solid playoff run, finishes outside the top 25 at Talladega and Las Vegas put him in a must-win spot heading into Martinsville. Eventually, Ryan Blaney edged him out, winning the race with Elliott stranded in 2nd place. Across his career, Eliott has led the most laps at Martinsville out of any track he has raced on with 1233, however, the HMS driver credits Dover as his favorite track to race on. 

The HMS driver said, “I don’t really know why [Dover Motor Speedway] has been good for me, but it has for sure, and I’m thankful for it. I’ve enjoyed going up there. It’s a challenging track. I think it just kind of suits some of the things that I want behind the wheel. You see that with guys across the board. You just go to certain tracks, and for whatever reason, that place just suits how somebody wants to drive. I think it really suited the old car and how I wanted to drive it there, not quite as much in the new one, but certainly more than other tracks do”. 

Most of Elliott’s races at Dover were before the Next Gen era, however, he did pick up a win in 2022 in the first race there with the new car. Prior to that, Elliott had a string of 4 consecutive top-5 finishes at D0ver in his first four starts, securing a win in just his sixth appearance on the track. So it’s no surprise why the 2020 Champ loves racing at Dover. As Chase Elliott gears up for the 2025 season with Hendrick Motorsports, Dover Motor Speedway remains more than just a favorite—it’s a track where his skill and connection to the sport shine brightest, offering a canvas for future triumphs.