Hendrick Motorsports VP Chad Knaus Hints Chase Elliott Is Missing Out on Huge Opportunity to Drive Next Gen Car on “Steroids”

One of the things NASCAR fans are looking forward to next season is the Le Mans program. However, the most popular driver of the sport, Chase Elliott, doesn’t exactly share the enthusiasm around the project.

In a recent interview, the Hendrick Motorsports driver opened up on his thoughts on competing in the crown jewel of endurance racing.

“There’s no competition in the class,” Elliott said about the key reason for him not being interested. “I want to go and compete. And that’s the part that I enjoy, seeing where you stack up against other competitors and where I can do better and just kind of challenging myself and pushing myself.”

Now, Elliott’s thoughts are his, but they won’t necessarily please his boss Rick Hendrick who made a point during the announcement that they’re going to be competitive and not just for the participation trophies.

In fact, along with Hendrick then, the current Vice President of Competition at HMS, Chad Knaus also recently emphasized on how invested they are in making the program as successful as they can.

“That’s a really unique opportunity,” Knaus said of the Le Mans program. “It’s a neat car. There’s a lot that’s going into it right now. All of our partners are really, heavily vested in this.”

“It’s a NASCAR Gen 7 car, but it’s on steroids.” 

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Apart from Chase Elliott, who could Hendrick Motorsports field for the Le Mans entry?

Earlier this year, when the program’s announcement was made, no driver lineup was revealed, something that’s still not clear. But over time, several names have come up.

While Jimmie Johnson is being believed to be an almost guaranteed, no-brainer kind of a name who will definitely be in Le Mans next year, the other three names that came into the picture were of Jeff Gordon, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson.

As things stand now, Elliott’s stance is pretty clear, Gordon could be in considering his recent comeback at the IMS, and as for Larson, well, he wouldn’t say no to a race if his schedule allows him, let alone a race as big as Le Mans.

With that said, nothing can be said until something is said by those whose ‘said’ matters the most, which is of Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR.

So until then, let us know who would your pick be for the Le Mans program in the comments below.

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