Home

NASCAR

Chase Elliott Announces Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona Entry as He Aims to ‘Be More Diverse as a Driver’

Published 12/19/2020, 5:00 AM EST

Follow Us

USA Today via Reuters

Earlier, there were reports that Chase Elliott was entertaining the thought of racing in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Now, those rumors will finally be confirmed, as he is set to race for Action Express Racing.

He will link up with Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani, and Mike Conway for the endurance race at Daytona.

Speaking about the recruitment, he said, “It’s something different and a completely different element of racing that I haven’t really tried before. I’m trying to branch out and be more diverse as a driver and this is another part of that experience.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

To make matters even better, Elliott will go up against his former teammate Jimmie Johnson for one last time. Johnson will drive the other Action Express car with Kamui Kobayashi, Simon Pagenaud, and Mike Rockenfeller.

What can be expected from Chase Elliott?

Despite this being Elliott’s Rolex 24 debut, he will have plenty of help in the form of his co-drivers and teammates. It also helps that the race will be held on the Daytona road course, where Elliott will certainly fancy his chances.

One of his five Cup Series wins in 2020 came at the Daytona road course.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

USA Today via Reuters

In light of this, Action Express Racing manager Gary Nelson confirmed that they spent time with Elliott. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion booked time in the simulator, testing the Dallara and Cadillac models.

Nelson confessed that Chase Elliott’s adaptability surprised him and his team. The 25-year old provided good feedback and was fairly easy to work with. The team is highly excited to work with him at Daytona.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

This can also benefit Elliott, as it gives him good practice ahead of the season-opener at the Daytona 500 in February.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Dhruv George

14,318Articles

One take at a time

Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
Show More>