NASCAR Cup Series
Talladega Superspeedway
Team Chevy Driver Quotes
October 24, 2026
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway.
Media Availability Quotes:
Chase, most popular driver voting opened yesterday and your name was removed from the ballot. Could you talk to us just a little bit about your decision to have that done?
“Yeah, I think a couple things went into it for me. You know, when Dale (Earnhardt, Sr.) passed in the early 2000s, dad removed his name. Ultimately, I was a young child, but looking back on that, I just always thought that was a really cool and admirable nod to, frankly, one of his biggest rivals, right? And just something that I just always had a lot of respect for. Now, I was too little to know how he went about that and kind of what the things were that he did to go about doing that. But as the time got closer, I had been asked about it a few times throughout the course of the year since we lost Kyle (Busch). I certainly thought about that some, and then also kind of thought about what Kyle meant to my career and just the relationship that we had. And also, just how much noise I think our fans have made for him over the course of his career. I know that he, certainly, kind of embraced that villain role. And maybe people totally didn’t like him, but they sure did make a lot of noise for him, and I think we can all agree to that. I just felt like because of that, and because of a lot of the things that I’ve got the chance to see behind the scenes of things that he did for his fans and how much he cared about the sport and for his supporters; I felt like he deserved to win that vote.
Now, that being said, just because I was in there, that’s not me saying that he wasn’t going to win by any stretch. But I do think it’s an opportunity for me to encourage the great supporters that I have and the people that have supported my family over the years to show that love and show that energy to Kyle and his family. Ultimately, I believe that he is a deserving winner of it, and he has my vote. I encourage those out there that want to get involved and want to take part in that to show him that same love. I think he deserves it. I think it would be a really cool honor for he and his family.”
Were you a fan of Kyle Busch?
“Yeah, I was a fan. You know, I think I’ve said this some too, but really, anybody my age and probably a little younger that were coming along at that point in time and got to see his dominance; I mean, if somebody sits there and tells you that they didn’t want to be like that in some way, shape or form, they are lying to your face, right? Like the guy was killing it. He was out there and he was just unbeatable at some places. And I feel like he kind of embraced that role and he loved that character that he took on of kind of be in that villain role. But as a racer and a guy coming along, it was really hard not to admire just his craft and how good he was behind the wheel and just some of the things that he changed the game with from a racecar driver’s perspective. And, you know, coming from somebody who loves the discipline of what we do and the craft behind the wheel that ultimately makes somebody better than the next; that’s my favorite thing about what we do. You know, I think he was definitely a game changer in that regard and deserved a lot of credit. So yeah, absolutely.”
With (Kyle) Larson being the points leader and kind of the opportunity for Chevrolet to win this championship and for Hendrick Motorsports, what’s the balance tomorrow between typical teammates and Chevy helping each other? And then, is there going to be any extra to help or protect Larson tomorrow to help him with that point lead?
“Yeah, I mean, certainly, we’re all thinking about that from a manufacturer’s perspective, and I’m sure it’s the same in every other camp with everything that’s going on. But I think the answer to that is the best way we can help him is no different than last week or next week and that’s to be competitive, to be good and to be in the mix, right? Because as soon as you are not and as soon as you have a bad day, the strength in numbers slowly dissipates. And then ultimately, you could potentially leave them on an island of not having any help and not having any friendlies around at the end of the race. So, to me, I think it’s business as usual from the standpoint of how we execute our day and control the things that are in our hands the best that we can, no different than any other speedway race.
I feel like for us, especially us four teammates, we do a pretty good job of just trying to take care of each other the best we can. Just trying not to hurt one another, I think, is the big thing with this stuff. And ultimately, executing all those details, right? Getting on and off pit road, being good through the cycles, setting ourself up for the right moments in the race. So, it’s really not any different from that standpoint. We have to continue to do all of those things and put ourselves in a position to even be able to help, right? And certainly, I know that if the roles were reversed, I would want that too.
So, yeah, I think that for us, we just have to kind of zoom in on all the details. There are a lot of things in plate racing that are out of your hands, and I think we all recognize that. But being competitive, running our race and putting us all in a position to have a shot, is ultimately the best way to help him.”
Just this era for you of these eight years, winning the most popular driver award. What has this meant to you looking back on it? Not to say you won’t win it again next year, but just this first chunk of those for you?
“Yeah, I mean, to me, the first thing that comes to mind is just extremely grateful. You know, I’ll speak for myself and how thankful I’ve been for the overwhelming support that I’ve had throughout the course of my career. And when I say that, too, it’s not just it’s not just the vote, frankly. You know, I see it and get to live it every week. I see the support throughout the entire country that we travel. I get to see people and have even gotten to know people over the course of my career that are supporters and just genuinely want to see us do good. I think that’s one of the coolest things that you can experience being a part of sports, right, is just having somebody’s support; they’ve got your back, they just want you to be you and want to see you succeed. So, I think seeing that firsthand has always been very humbling, and I’m extremely grateful for that. I can speak for my whole family and tell you how grateful I think we all are for the support that we’ve received throughout the course of well beyond my lifetime. Just very thankful and appreciative for all of that. And ultimately, at the end of the day, I just want to give all those folks something to cheer for. You know, we all watch because we love the sport and we watch because we love seeing cars go around the racetrack really fast. We appreciate the folks out there that want to see us do good. And like I said, I want to give them something to cheer for on a regular basis, and that’s what I work hard every week to try and accomplish.”
After Daytona, you said that the updated aero package was edgier. It was easier to build runs, kind of use that momentum. Talladega is a different tracks, slightly smaller spoiler. Do you kind of know what to expect tomorrow when you guys are out there racing?
“Yeah, I think it’ll be really similar to Daytona in a lot of ways. You know, I will say that throughout the course of my career, I feel like I have always complained about balance the least at the Daytona night race. And I just think in general, the level of aggression that you can have in that race with the temperature, typically the sun being off the racetrack and the surface being somewhat new — I shouldn’t say new, but has a fair amount of grip to it, it has always kind of surprised me how different the Daytona 500 feels to that race. There’s been many years where we’ve gone to that night race, had a really good balanced car and the car drives great, and we come back there in the spring and we’re terrible, and I’m always just kind of baffled by that a little bit.
But with all that being said, it just kind of makes me realize with how edgy those cars were at that race in particular; I feel like you combine the track surface and the age here that it has – and I know it’s not necessarily super-hot, but certainly the sun being out on this racetrack, I think the cars will have an element of poor handling. To what degree, I don’t know. But I’m excited to find out. I kind of enjoyed the unknown at Daytona. I thought it was kind of fun, just having absolutely no idea what to expect. I think there’ll be another element of that here this weekend. I do think that just the conditions and the track surface can play a big role in that too.”
Regarding the dogleg shortcut at Phoenix, do you have any input for NASCAR for maybe doing something different for that, given some of the conversation this week?
“I mean, I think it’s fine. You know, that racetrack was always awkward as it was. And then, when we turned it around, swapped the corners around and put the start-finish line where they put it; it just kind of made it more awkward, I guess. But I don’t know what you do about that. I’m not sure what the complaints are or not, but I think it’s fine. It makes it unique. It makes it something different.
The restarts, I feel like if I had anything to complain about, I think the restarts are fine; you know, cutting the dogleg and all that, I think is okay. It becomes a little difficult to police when you turn left on that situation. I’ve found myself in that situation and that spot before of guys getting runs and knowing exactly when you can pull out of line at that start-finish line. Just the advantage that you can have in that, I think, can get a little gray. But that’s been part of it. That’s nothing new and everybody kind of plays those games the best they can to put themselves in an advantageous situation, which is what they’re supposed to do racing, right? So, yeah, the long-winded way of saying it, I’m good with whatever they decide to do.”
How valuable is Kevin Harvick buying ASA and being part of that super late model ownership world?
Well, I think anything you can do to inject some health into those series right now, I think are crucial for just the long-term lifespan of that stuff surviving, right? In a couple of conversations I’ve had with him, it’s kind of opened my eyes to how healthy some of that style of racing is in the Northwest. You know, I spent most of my time doing that stuff around the Southeast. We ventured up North some, but we never went to the Northwest. You talk to him and he’s like — man, those folks just absolutely are so hungry for short-track racing and they just don’t have it and they don’t have it presented in the right way. So, I think to have a guy that is willing to take those things to places that are wanted and will be supported, I think are extremely important. I hope it grows. I hope it builds. I hope it offers opportunities for future racers to be able to come up in parts of the country that historically might not have offered them a good path to get here or wherever it is they want to go. So, I hope it does all those things. I’ve benefited from something very similar, right? You know, I came up that way and, and I would love to see that style of racing and those types of cars be around for a long time and be really healthy.”
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