At 28 years old, Hendrick Motorsports star Chase Elliott has already achieved what many drivers can’t in a lifetime behind the wheel. Despite his forgettable 2023 campaign that was marred by misfortunes, he stands tall atop a hill made of 5 Most Popular Driver awards and 1 Cup Series championship heading to 2024.

While his accomplishments of the past put him over most drivers in the current Cup Series grid, another important comparison has to be made. Where does Chase stand in comparison to his father, the NASCAR legend, Bill Elliott?

Chase Elliott has had a better start to his Cup career than his father, Bill Elliott

Earlier, in this year’s throwback weekend at Darlington in May, Chase Elliott paid tribute to his father by racing in the #9 LLumar Films red scheme, last sported by his father between 2001 and 2003. Chase had said at the time that it was this red scheme that set his heart singing love songs to NASCAR and racing. Bill Elliott’s career and speed on a race track could make any young boy fall in love with racing, let alone his own son. And perhaps, Chase got a bit too inspired to the level that he now races ahead of his father in the stats book.

In his time at the top, Bill Elliott won a record 16 Most Popular Driver awards. This was in a career spanning 38 years. His son has been here for just 9 years. And he already has 5. It’s safe to say that Chase has the “popularity” game in his pocket for now. On the track too, he has the better numbers when put side by side with his father. Bill Elliott began racing the Cup Series in 1975, and it took him 8 years to secure his first win, and 5 more to win a championship. Chase, on the other hand, got 3 wins in his 4th year and his first championship 6 years in.

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Let’s put it this way. In their first 9 years in the Cup Series, Bill Elliott had 1 win and 0 championships. Chase Elliott has 18 wins and 1 championship. It’s still early to say that Chase would end up being the Elliott with the most accolades to his name. But he is definitely on the right path.

Will Chase be the one to end the Elliott curse of not having multiple championships?

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In the years that Bill Elliott was at his best, he faced tough opponents in the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Darrel Waltrip, and Carl Yarborough. But that did not set him back from getting his own crowns across the table. An expert in taking on 500-mile races, he won the Southern 500 3 times and the Daytona 500 twice. Notably, in 1985, he won the Coca-Cola 500 whilst driving with a broken leg, resulting from an on-track accident two weeks earlier.

Aside from the fractional wins, Bill Elliott won the 1988 Cup Series championship. But that was the only time he won it. Already having secured his first championship pretty early in his career, Chase will be hoping to get in another one soon. In 2023, he joined his father in an elite list of NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers. Though he felt honoured for having been included in the list, Chase Elliott had mentioned in an “X” post, “There’s still much work left to be done… .” His words reflect his awareness and ambitions in equal measure. Hopefully, he will bounce back from his setback in 2023 and find his knack for the wheel in the upcoming season.

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