Chase Elliott is a man of many talents, and racing might not even be his most impressive skill. It turns out that the Hendrick Motorsports star is the pilot of his own $1.8 million private jet, which he usually flies to race tracks during the season. Dale Earnhardt Jr might not have been privy to this fact before, but on a recent episode of The Dale Jr Download podcast, he was quite surprised and intrigued when the driver of the #9 made his revelation.

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion might not have started the year the way he would have wanted to, and a lot of his fans have not been impressed by how things have gone so far. However, one man who has been quite impressed with the 28-year-old is his Hendrick Motorsports predecessor.

Dale Earnhardt Jr in awe of the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s multi-tasking

Being a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series takes a lot of effort, and no one knows it better than Dale Earnhardt Jr. But to take time out of that schedule, learn to become a pilot, and practice the art of flying a plane as frequently as Chase Elliott has is truly something that has left him baffled. It’s safe to say that not many drivers would even consider splitting their focus between racing and flying, given the effort required in both, but the driver of the #9 is a different breed.

“You know the takeoff and runway performance of the plane you were flying and anytime you are flying into an airport, you’re the one that has to follow the plan, you’re the one that has to understand how your plane can perform. Some of these airports that we go to, they’re shorter than 5000 feet so you gotta be careful but you manage all of that on your own, also you’re a race car driver preparing…I know what it takes to be a race car driver, it takes even more now in terms of preparation, data, and information that you are being fed. Plus you gotta know how to fly an airplane which seems like a full-time job of its own,” the 28-year-old said.

However, for Chase Elliott, flying is a lot more than just a hobby. It is indeed a side hustle apart from his racing career, but it was a way to compensate for the fact that he never received any formal education after high school.

Why is flying so important for Chase Elliott?

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For a lot of these race car drivers, pursuing education after school becomes impossible. Firstly, it takes a lot of money to become a motorsports athlete, so affording college becomes tough. Secondly, making time for education and racing at a professional level isn’t feasible. So for the driver of the #9 car, learning to fly, and owning a  $1.8m private jet is something that helps keep his mind sharp.

“I didn’t go to college. I got out of high school that second semester, and I came up here and started racing out of this building, and the flying thing for me has always been just a way for me to continue to challenge my mind and to try and better myself in an educational way, kind of to supplement the fact that I didn’t go to college and I didn’t go to school, and I just feel like it’s… if I don’t feel like I am challenging my brain in some way shape or form, I feel I’m just I feel like I’ve got to be just doing something to make myself think, and if I am not doing that, I am just rotting away in my mind,” Elliott explained.

One thing that Chase Elliott has to improve this season is his racing, and after earning his first top-10 finish of the season at Bristol, things may be on an upward curve. It will be interesting to see how the Hendrick Motorsports star performs for the rest of the season.

Read More – Despite Recent Domination, Joe Gibbs Had His Heart in the Mouth After JGR’s Wonky Start to the Season