Marvelous teamwork and an aggressive stance worked hand-in-hand to clinch Chase Elliott’s 19th career win in Texas. After a long wait, the No. 9 team finally reached Victory Lane. They stuck with Chase Elliott through his struggles, with the exception of his spotter. Eddie D’Hondt had spotted Elliott for 8 years and chose to take his leave during his dark times in 2023.

But that allowed Elliott to fall back on a stronger, more familiar connection. Elliott’s new spotter was closer to him in terms of blood and friendship. And that is what Kevin Harvick pinpointed to be a crucial reason for Elliott’s long-awaited rebound to glory.

Chase Elliott’s brotherly bond helped him on the race track

Early this year, Alanis King, an Xfinity spotter, and journalist, had narrated how important driver-spotter camaraderie is. “You’re the driver’s eyes”, she said. NASCAR spotters update their drivers about everything unfolding behind, beside, and in front of a race car. They also use short sentences to communicate for the least distraction, like “Left side”, “Bumper”, “Quarter” and “Door.”

That is what Kevin Harvick drew into the spotlight on his podcast recently on Chase Elliott’s Texas win. At first, he talked about the mounting pressures that Elliott had to face in 2023. “When you get on a winless streak, the most annoying thing is you gotta answer the questions. You have to deal with it every week until you win…You have to deal with the sponsors, and what’s the sponsorship value worth…Because of your teammates, you’ve got the 5 and the 24, you have to be able to put yourself in that position to win races.”

But Chase Elliott had somebody to help him steer through all those troubles. In January 2024, the Hendrick team declared Trey Poole as the full-time spotter for Chase Elliott. Besides having already served as a spotter on road courses in 2021, Poole is more importantly Elliott’s cousin. This spelled huge advantages for Elliott as he could unload his racing and mental struggles more openly, as Harvick pointed out.

“All of a sudden you’re getting into new conversations that you otherwise wouldn’t have had with your other spotter. And hopefully, you’re around somebody who’s brutally honest with you because that’s really what you need in this sport. If you’re slacking or not doing the things that you’re supposed to do, or not aggressive enough on restarts or made a bad move, you need somebody to say, ‘Hey, you need to be a little more aggressive’…Maybe that’s what Trey is.”

Trey Poole is definitely that kind of support for Chase Elliott, as the latter had also expressed faith in his cousin earlier.

Elliott heaped appreciation on his cousin’s talents

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Trey Poole has been a silent supporter of Chase Elliott’s career all throughout. The 34-year-old has both hands-on and external experience, having raced in the Legend Cars and Dirt Late Models earlier. In 2021, after Eddie D’Hondt left, Poole covered his spot. And Chase Elliott had himself recommended him, trusting his rapport with his cousin.

Speaking on the cousin dynamic, Elliott said, “Obviously, he knows me very well. He just fits into our group, and he knows everybody. That goes a long way when you’re trying to fill a role quickly like that.” He also added: “He doesn’t have to talk much to do a good job, and I think that’s the bottom line. He’s been around our team for a long time.”

Now that the two cousins have reunited on the race tracks, their camaraderie has already begun to show results. We are expecting more such golden fruits from their bond.