Chase Elliott has not had the best start to his 2025 Cup Series campaign. With no wins in over a year and just 74 laps led without a single stage win in 2025, Elliott has been struggling for speed. While he still sits in the top 10 on points because of good finishes, it’s a far cry from his HMS teammates. William Byron, in the #24, won the Daytona 500, while Kyle Larson has already won 3 races. So, with his season in desperate need of a turnaround, Elliott has turned to his roots, in search of a revival of form.

The driver, who has currently parked his Chevy fourth in the driver’s standings, very fondly recalls his early days as a Grassroots champion. Elliot said in early 2024, “I love it and I enjoy going to do it when I can, obviously. It can be tough with our schedule, as you all know. Not as many weekday asphalt late-model races as I would like for them to be now.” Now, 12 races into the Cup season, Elliott will finally dip his toes into the ASA STARS National Tour next week!

Chase Elliott is back mid-week racing

Chase Elliott is set to return to the SpeedFest Super Late Model event again this year, and when he was a regular, he did not just win races – he rewrote the playbook on short track dominance. Back in 2013, Elliot was the only driver to have conquered all four races of the Super Late Model Grand Slam event. With his world crown victory in 2012, little Chase Elliott had cemented himself among short track legends, joining the elite ranks of Bobby Gill, Butch Miller, and Darrell Waltrip, to name a few. The then 14-year-old proved to be a formidable force on the track and was called the King of the Late Model world.

With Chase Elliott competing against defending champions like Bubba Pollard, he has a chance to rewrite history and break records. He races next Thursday at the ASA Tour at the iconic Hickory Motor Speedway with his home team, Fr8 Racing, based in GA, after his drive in January at the Cordele Motor Speedway. After a slightly disappointing finish at the Protect Your Melon Buckle Up Speedfest 150, finishing fifth, it is safe to say that Elliot is hungry for more. He is ready to prove why he still belongs there. It is just a matter of time before we see what Chase cooks up at the Hickory Motor Speedway.

This race marks the third year in a row that Chase Elliott will be taking part in a late model race at Hickory Motor Speedway, since its addition to the late model schedule in 2023. Elliott finished 6th in 2023 as his HMS teammate William Byron finished 2nd to Gio Ruggiero. In 2024, Elliott started eighth, but mechanical issues led to an early ending for Chase. 2025 is a chance to prove a point. To tell the world that despite a lackluster Cup season, his time is far from over.

Elliot also owes a great deal to grassroots racing for the rise of his racing career in NASCAR. He reminisces about the good old days and pays his respects to the series, saying, “I grew to have such a large appreciation and respect for the discipline. We were so immersed in it, and I just think because of the amount of impact it had on my life today and career through those four or five years, I just have a huge appreciation for that.”

All eyes will be on Chase Elliott as he makes his way through this weekend in North Carolina. The Hickory race only marks one half of the double-header weekend for the ASA STARS National Tour. So while Chase will be preparing for the Coca-Cola 600, the regulars of Late Model will be gearing up for the Food Country USA 300 at Newport Speedway.

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The birthplace of NASCAR stars

Chase Elliott is all set to attend and hopefully dominate the track of Hickory in North Carolina. North Carolina has a reputation for giving birth to the best pioneering tracks in the history of American Motorsports, and Hickory Speedway is deemed the “Birthplace of NASCAR Stars,” and the “World’s Most Famous Short Track” is a title that Hickory proudly wears.

Some of the biggest names in NASCAR left their mark on this track in Newton. The track gave rise to fierce competitors and legends like Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, Ralph Earnhardt, who has 5 track championships, and many more. Junior Johnson stood out in the Grand National ranks, collecting an impressive seven victories here. The 1/2-mile track hosted the NASCAR Cup Series races for about 20 years, from the 1950s through the 1970s, before succumbing to its fate as a short track for Super Late Model races.

Hickory remains deeply woven into the history of motorsports. It still serves as a strong reminder of why grassroots racing should be kept alive. A similar tone that aligns with Chase Elliott. The question now is, can Chase Elliott channel the old beast once again to dominate the world’s most famous short track? Let us know in the comments!