"An opportunity that nobody would turn down”: When Chase Elliott spoke about taking over the #24 from Jeff Gordon

When Chase Elliott was set to embark on his rookie Cup Series campaign with Hendrick Motorsports, he encountered an 'honorable' moment with legendary driver Jeff Gordon. Gordon, a four-time Cup Series champion, was running his final NASCAR season for Rick Hendrick, and wished Elliott could inherit his iconic #24.

However, one roadblock in Gordon's desire was the #9, used by Elliott's father Bill for much of his career. Nonetheless, the upcoming rookie said he would never deny such an opportunity.

After Gordon denied Hendrick's idea to forfeit the number, he asked if Elliott could use the number after his retirement. The budding NASCAR talent, who claimed the 2014 Xfinity title in his rookie campaign, was fresh off a P2 rank in his sophomore season in the Xfinity Series and a no-brainer for Gordon's number. He began his full-time Cup Series journey with the #24.

In 2015, Elliott spoke about what it meant for him to drive Jeff Gordon's #24:

“Having the honor to drive the 24 is something that a racer can only dream of. That is such an iconic number, it’s a legendary number and for Jeff to tell me that he wants me to drive the 24, that right there is plenty enough for me to be on-board with it," Elliott said via Sporting News.

Chase Elliott expressed his excitement, explaining that he would never turn down such an opportunity. He said:

“He asked me if I was OK with that. If we were shaking hands, I’d have ripped his arm off. That is an opportunity that nobody would turn down. For him to tell me that he wanted me to do that and asked if it was OK with me? Absolutely.”

Chase Elliott ran his rookie and sophomore Cup seasons in the #24 Chevy and switched to the #9 in 2018.

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William Byron took over the #24 from Chase Elliott and achieved a feat previously only claimed by Gordon

Just like his teammate Chase Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports was the launchpad for William Byron's NASCAR success. After running one Xfinity season at JRM and claiming the 2017 title, the Charlotte, North Carolina native graduated to the Cup level with a seat at HMS.

2018 marked Byron's Premier level debut in Jeff Gordon's iconic #24 Chevy. After two winless seasons, Byron brought home his first Cup victory at the 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400 race. It also marked the #24 Chevy's first victory since Gordon claimed his last triumph at the 2015 Martinsville race. Only these two drivers have claimed wins in the #24.

The #24 Chevrolet has contested in 1701 NASCAR races, piloted by 65 drivers. However, of the 106 wins raked in by the Chevy, Gordon has contributed to 93 victories from 797 races while Byron has earned 13 triumphs thus far from 252 races.