NASCAR CUP SERIES
BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM
TEAM CHEVY TRANSCRIPT
FEBRUARY 1, 2025
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media onsite at Bowman Gray Stadium ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray.
Media Availability Quotes:
What are your initial feelings of what you’re seeing here so far at Bowman Gray Stadium?
“Yeah, I raced here in the K&N Series, which I’m sure is like a lot of the guys in the garage now. That was around 12 to 15 years ago, or something. So yeah, obviously it’s been a long time ago now.. a lot of racing since then. I don’t remember a ton about it, to be honest with you. I remember it was a big deal when we did that back then, but I can’t sit here and tell you that I remember a ton. I remember the first time I came up here, I had a dead battery in our car and every time we would stop, I couldn’t get it started back up. So I was ready to forget that night. I think I did successfully forget most of that one, and then I think the second trip went about just as good as that. So I hope this one goes a little better this go around.”
What are your thoughts on the new rule that allows an elite driver in the field?
“I could see both sides of the fence, right?”
Like what if Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton wanted to come and race, and NASCAR would have to pick between the two?
“Well if they (NASCAR) already decided, then I guess they would have to qualify in, right?
Yeah, I don’t know.. I can argue both sides of the fence, right? You’d hate to have a Helio Castroneves, a Max Verstappen, a Lewis Hamilton or someone come in to run a race and then miss the show due to something silly. So I can certainly see that aspect of it from a promotor side of things, where you wouldn’t want to risk that because that’s obviously going to be a big deal for you. But I also think that with prestigious races, there should be some sort of integrity in making the show. I think that’s part of what makes the race prestigious. You know, it’s a hard event to make. I think you see that with the Indianapolis 500, or you see that at the Chili Bowl, right? It’s a hard race to make. It’s a big deal just to get into the show, so I can see both sides of the fence there. I think it’s totally fine.. I just don’t want to ever degrade or hurt the long-term integrity of the sport and take the prestige out of events that should be some of our biggest days of the year.”
Daytona and Talladega aren’t raced the way that Martinsville is. Rules got changed after Martinsville because of the way that the racing was there at the end. You guys met with NASCAR on Wednesday.. do you guys feel like you understand how you’re allowed to race at Daytona coming up?
“I have not been briefed yet, so this is an easy answer for me.. I wasn’t at the meeting.
I think that at the end of the day, obviously they didn’t like how some of the things went on. Look, it’s their playground and I think the best thing I can do as a competitor is try to respect that the best I can. You know, at the end of the day, there’s always going to be teammates, alliances and so on and so forth. I’m not sure how you ever totally take that out of the equation. But from my standpoint, when you simplify it as a competitor, you always want to try and be the best and do the best that you can for your team. That’s kind of how I’ve always looked at it. We will certainly, as a company and as a manufacturer, try to stay within the lines that they set for us and respect the rules that they put in place. I think that’s all we can do.”
Where would you guys like to see the Clash go to, and what would you like to see out of this race going forward?
“Yeah, I mean I think anything you can do.. I kind of like Ryan’s (Blaney) thought of potentially getting outside of the United States. I know we’re kind of testing the waters a little bit with the Mexico City race this year, but I think the real test would be going overseas and I think this race would be a good opportunity to do something like that.. where it wouldn’t be committing to a points race, you know, somewhere that’s a long ways away. I like the idea of using it as a potential stepping stone to help grow the sport. And I almost feel like if we’re not going to do that, I’m not even sure that it’s totally necessary, you know, either. I do think it’s a good opportunity to shake things down and kind of get into the groove. But we just ran a month-and-a-half ago.. it wasn’t that long ago either. I think for me, I’m not saying one way or another, I’m just saying that everything is on the table. I’d be good either way, whether it’s here or Daytona. If they want to do it in Europe.. if they want to not do it at all, I’d be fine with any of the above.”
How would you assess the state of the sport, coming off a controversial-filled playoffs, and now starting up a new season?
“Well that’s a very broad question. But look, I actually think things are in an OK place. When I look at just the state of the sport, generally speaking, I think that the leadership group at NASCAR right now has been open to more change over the past three or four years than I think it probably ever changed, you know, in the prior 30 years before that. So I think that there’s got to be some appreciation for the willingness that they’ve had to go and try new things. And also, with that being said, does that mean all of those things are going to be good? No, they’re not. And I think as long as we’re willing to say that some of the stuff hasn’t been good, then it’s fine. I think we can move forward and grow from it. I see a lot of logical things. I know this is really small thing, but them teching these racecars at Charlotte Motor Speedway before we drug them up here, it is a very logical thing to do. Really nice.. great for the teams. Somebody was really thinking with that. It’s the little things that, I think, that make things better. That’s an example of a positive change and I hope we can continue to go in a good direction.”
NASCAR has decided not to change the playoffs this year, but indicated that they’re going to take a hard look at it over the course of the season to possibly change it next year. What are your thoughts on them not changing it? Do you want to see changes moving forward?
“Yeah, I think it’s an extremely important decision.. kind of going to Jordan’s (Bianchi) question with just the state of the sport. I’m not sure there’s a more important decision that we can make in just how we crown our champion every year and making sure that we’re not ever doing that the wrong way or taking away from what that means. I just think that, long-term, whatever decision that they want to make or whatever decision that they do make, I just want to make sure, kind of what we were eluding to early, that the sport is getting better and that these prestigious moments are always prestigious and we’re never taking away from that because that, to me, is what makes this deal special and so on and so forth. I’m with Ryan (Blaney).. as a competitor, I really don’t care what they decide to do. At the end of the day, when they set the rules and you’ve come out and they say, ‘hey look – this is the path and this is how it’s supposed to work’, then I think you just have to respect that. That’s not any competitor’s fault at that juncture. That’s the rules that they make, and if you win it in that format, then you are the rightful champion. You know, I hate that there’s been questions that have taken away from Joey (Logano). It seems like over the winter, people were asking me about it, and I hate that because it’s not his fault. He just did the best he could with the format that he was handed, and he did it better than everybody else. I just, long-term, want to make sure that we’re doing the right things to not ever take away from that in a very general, broad, perspective.”
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