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How Chase Elliott Turned a Hooters Server Into a NASCAR Fan

Published 03/18/2022, 1:55 PM EDT

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Arguably, no other current driver in NASCAR commands a bigger celebrity and fan following than Chase Elliott. The Hendrick driver took on the mantle of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver from Dale Earnhardt Jr when he retired in 2017, and since then he’s held on to it strongly.

And just like Dale Jr., Elliott has also done the good work of spreading the racing gospel.

This was all the more cemented after the recent comments of Chela Gamboa, a Hooters server who featured in a promotional video with the 2020 Cup Series champion.

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Hooters, who are one of Elliott’s key sponsors, filmed a promotional video earlier this year. And after that shoot, Gamboa was turned from someone doing a job with a NASCAR driver to following the driver and the sport curiously.

“Before this, I had not watched a lot of NASCAR,” she said.

“I heard about it all the time working at Hooters, but I wasn’t much into it. But since the shoot, I’ve definitely tried to keep up because even though it’s not like I really know (Elliott) personally, I do know him and I want to see how he’s doing. So this shoot brought me more into NASCAR and wanting to know more about it.”

 

Chase Elliott was a “super nice” and “very chill” person according to Gamboa

The Hooters server revealed what her thoughts were before the shoot.

She said, “Before I got to the shoot, I was very nervous — I’m meeting a celebrity! But when I got there, he was a very chill guy, super-nice and very helpful.” 

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She further went on to describe how Elliott’s team was helpful with anything they needed to make them feel comfortable.

“It was just a really good, fun experience.”

via Getty

Gamboa’s account should give fans an insight into how Chase Elliott is in real life. Well, unless you’re racing alongside him and you shove him into the wall, then things could differ.

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Written by:

Shaharyar Khan Chauhan

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Shaharyar is an F1 & NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Journalism from Amity University, he has been a passionate follower of motorsports for a better part of the decade. A Max Verstappen and Ferrari supporter, he dreams of a pairing of the two in future.
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Edited by:

Ankit Sharma