PHOENIX, Ariz. — Chase Elliott joined his father, Bill Elliott, in elite company of NASCAR drivers who have won a NASCAR Cup Series championship.
At just 24-years, 11 months, and 11 days old, Elliott is now the third-youngest Cup Series champion in history. He’s only behind Jeff Gordon in 1995 and Bill Rexford in 1950, who were both younger.
“I’m not sure that I still even know,” Elliott said. “I just, man, I’m at a loss for words. This is unbelievable. Oh, my gosh. We did it. I mean, we did it. That’s all I’ve got to tell you. Unreal.”
Elliott beat out Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski in the Championship Four.
Despite starting in the rear of the field for failing tech inspection, Elliott led 153 laps in the Cup Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway. He made it from last place to third place by the end of Stage 1. It was incredible Elliott was even in a position to win the championship after he won a Martinsville a week ago in a must-win situation for his team.
“You know, I feel like we just put a lot of emphasis on the things that matter and really just didn’t care about anything else,” Elliott said of his late-season surge of success. “Ultimately it’s how good of a job did we do building that car, how prepared am I coming into a race weekend and how do we execute it.”
This is Elliott’s second major NASCAR series championship. He won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in 2014.
His father, Bill Elliott, won the 1988 Cup Series championship, also piloting the #9-car like his son.
