CONCORD, N.C. – The Elliott family heritage runs deep in NASCAR, and once again this season, Chase Elliott will pay tribute to a paint scheme that’s “in his blood.”
Wednesday morning, Elliott unveiled the throwback No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 paint scheme that he’ll pilot this September at Darlington Raceway.
“It’s always a cool thing to be able to honor family or throw back to something within your own blood,” the driver said. “I have enjoyed doing that the past couple years. I felt like it was another good opportunity to do so, kind of fits the NAPA colors, car looks good and hopefully it goes fast.”
The blue-and-white ride mirrors the fourth-ever NASCAR Cup Series car of Elliott’s father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott. He drove it while racing for his father, George Elliott, in the 1981 season. That year, Bill Elliott captured his first Cup Series pole at Darlington and earned seven top-10 finishes.
It’s not the first throwback ride with family ties that the youngest Elliott has driven with Hendrick Motorsports. In 2017, he raced a light-blue Chevy based on his father’s scheme that debuted at Rockingham Speedway in 1976. Last season, he took a yellow paint scheme to Darlington modeled after a car that his late cousin Casey drove back in 1993.
“NAPA has kind of given us some free rein on that, which is nice,” he said. “Last year, especially, being able to honor my cousin, which was a cool deal. To be able to throw back to one of dad’s cars again will be fun.”
The latest throwback will hit the track this Labor Day weekend for the Southern 500. Take a closer look at the scheme here.
“I look forward to getting to the track and seeing it live and in person,” Elliott said.