CONCORD, N.C. – This Sunday, Chase Elliott will drive his No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS out onto his home track at Atlanta Motor Speedway in front of his friends, family, and community members.
The driver shares his hometown with his sponsor, NAPA AUTO PARTS, whose headquarters is located within the city, making this race a particularly special one.
Elliott, who portrays a calm, cool composure, said the only pressure he feels is that which he puts on himself. His Hendrick Motorsports teammates agreed that while there may be some pressure that comes along with his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at his home track, they have no doubt Elliott is capable of handling it.
“I’d say there will be some pressure on him but I think he pretty much just takes it all as it comes,” Kasey Kahne said of his rookie teammate. “Those things don’t seem to affect him too much from what I’ve seen from the outside.”
With the first race of the season being at a restrictor plate track, Atlanta gives the drivers their first glimpse of the more traditional type of track they will encounter more regularly throughout the year.
Jimmie Johnson recalled that during his rookie year, Atlanta was the track where he felt he finally settled into a rhythm. It’s the type of speedway where drivers learn to pace themselves over the course of a run.
“Chase has a lot of years behind the wheel of a car,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS said. “He’s been to Atlanta plenty of times so I feel like once he gets away from the outside things and he puts his helmet on and climbs in the car, that’s going to be a really good track for him.”
Elliott grew up watching his father compete at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Cup Series, but most of his own experience at the track has not been on the main speedway. He has experience racing Bandolero cars as well as Legend cars but said he is looking forward to adding another series to that list this weekend.
“I grew up watching a lot of the Cup races there and it’s just been a fun place to go visit and watch. It’s obviously my home track so I think that’ll be special and I’m excited to compete for the first time there on the Cup level.”
Competing at their home track for the first time is an experience most drivers remember, and Johnson’s was certainly one for the books. In just his 10th Cup race as a rookie, Johnson captured a win with his first start in Fontana, California.
“I was just very lucky with my first hometown start,” Johnson said. “I won. It was just the perfect day. I really hope that Chase can have that same experience, it was a lot of fun for me.”
And taking the checkered flag this Sunday would make Elliott’s homecoming even sweeter.
“Wow, a win at Atlanta would be huge,” the 20-year-old said. “A win anywhere would be great but to do it at home, at your home track, in front of a lot of friends – hopefully, if I can get them to come out – and family would be pretty special.”