CONCORD, N.C. -- The awards keep rolling in for Chase Elliott. Less than two weeks after he was crowned the NASCAR Cup Series champion, the 24-year-old driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was presented with four honors during the virtual 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Awards on Wednesday.
The awards come after Elliott won his first Cup Series championship on Nov. 8, giving Hendrick Motorsports its record-extending 13th title.
“It’s been amazing,” Elliott said. “I feel like it’s everything I could every ask for, and then some. These last two weeks have just been incredible. I feel like it’s still kind of a dream.”
Elliott was announced as the Most Popular Driver for the third year in a row and he was honored with the Busch Pole Award. He secured the fastest lap at the spring Phoenix race to start in the pole position, he started first by a random draw at Atlanta in June, and he rolled off the grid first four times by virtue of the performance metric that was put in place on Aug. 6. In total, Elliott had six first-place starts this season.
Elliott earned the Goodyear Gold Car Award, which is given to the Cup Series champion. A 1/12-scale replica of Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy will be created and covered in a 24-karat gold-plate finish. He also was presented with the Sunoco Diamond Performance Award, which is bestowed on the Cup Series winner, as well.
“That’s the ultimate goal that everyone sets out to do when you first start racing,” Elliott said of competing for a championship. “It’s been an honor and this whole situation and experience is something else. I’m very proud.”
Elliott wasn’t the only Hendrick Motorsports driver honored Wednesday night. Jimmie Johnson was presented with the prestigious Bill France Award of Excellence. The award isn’t given out every year, making Johnson the 27th recipient since it was created in 1953.