Chase Elliott Takes the Gloves off in Apparent Dig at NASCAR: “Everybody’s Super Laid Back Around Here”

Hendrick Motorsports and Chase Elliott would have been very confident heading into the Championship 4 race in Phoenix. The driver was no newbie to the massive stage and understood the stakes very well; he had won it in 2020 to emerge as one of the youngest to win the title, at just 24 years old. Alas, there were no encores for the driver.

Chase Elliott went into the final race hoping to roar; he ended the race with a whimper. While it wasn’t a fault (wholly) of his own, it still was a disappointment for a young driver who strives to compete and be the best. Elliott put that behind him and took part in the Nitro Rallycross in Travis Pastrana’s team. He was partnered by Austin Cindric, the 2022 Daytona 500 winner.

Elliott would have hoped to redeem himself, and find a high at Wild Horse Pass. He said before the race, “Yeah it’s been good, everybody’s super laid back around here so it’s super nice. That’s not the norm for me, everything’s very different in the asphalt, NASCAR side of things. So yeah, it’s just nice to just come and have some fun.”

He seemed to be enjoying himself as he said, “Obviously A Shoc’s involved here, [that] plays a big role [and] having an opportunity to come do [this] which is really cool of them, to kind of include me in something that’s not really my background.”

“So yeah, I enjoy coming over. It’s fun, I’ve enjoyed the weekend, these cars are all-electric this year which is different to what we had last year too so yeah I’m having fun.”

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The disappointments of 2022 must have been taxing for the young driver. Races like these are a healthy break for him, and he would be looking forward to a relaxing off-season.

Chase Elliott feels NitroRX is ahead of other Series

Moving from the gasoline-guzzling beasts of NASCAR to the quiet yet powerful all-electric monsters of Nitro Rallycross should’ve been worrying for the driver. But he was unperturbed; he seemed to rather enjoy being there.

Speaking ahead of the racing weekend, he said “It takes some getting used to but these things are like a big RC car really, it’s kinda wild not hearing any engine noise or anything like that. But I’ve really enjoyed it, it’s been fun, and I hope I keep improving throughout the weekend and we’ll see how it goes.”

“I feel the biggest thing is really just the vibe of the race weekend. It reminds me a lot of my time going and watching Supercross, which I think is really cool. It’s kind of the vibe where a Supercross event meets four-wheeled racing, which I think is really a spot in the motorsports world that needs to be taken, in my opinion, because there’s just not really a lot of those types of environments for four-wheeled racing.”

“There is for motorcycle racing, but not really for us and I think it draws a different crowd and I think it’s important that we have something that has that type of atmosphere and climate for fans to come and enjoy,” said the 2020 Cup Series champion.

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Elliott feels the ‘vibe’ in four-wheeled racing is no longer conducive to a great experience for fans or for drivers. What do fans think about it? Let us know in the comments!