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2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott has announced that he will be driving the number 9 Hendrick Motorsports entry in the Tar Heel 250 this coming Thursday. The ASA STARS National Tour will visit the Hickory Motor Speedway on May 23 for the event jointly sanctioned by the ASA STARS National Tour and the ASA Southern Super Series.
Elliott, 28, won his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in just his fifth season as a full-time Cup driver. He has 19 wins at the Cup level so far, with the most recent one coming at Texas Motor Speedway last month, which ended a 42-race winless draught.
Elliott also has a win in the prestigious NASCAR All-Star race. The Dawsonville native is a six-time NMPA Most Popular Driver award winner.
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During the 250-lap feature, Elliott will compete against the best Super Late Model racers from 11 states and Canada. The winner will take home the prize money of $15,000.
The only other NASCAR driver besides Elliott to compete in this race is Stewart-Haas Racing driver, Josh Berry.
On Wednesday, i.e., May 22, the teams will park their haulers and prepare for the practice sessions that will start at 5 p.m. and continue till 8p.m. Thursday's schedule remains jam-packed, with four events lined up:the Go Fas Pole Qualifying, a meet-and-greet with the ASA STARS National Tour, the Legend National qualifying event, and the Tar Heel 250.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace will serve as the Grand Marshal of the event.
Chase Elliott opens up about the revival of NASCAR's ghost track
The NASCAR All-Star race returns at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2024 for the second consecutive year. Chase Elliott was a part of the first attempt to revive the iconic speedway back in 2010. Although the results of the endeavor were short-lived back then, Elliott realizes how the efforts made by Speedway Motorsports Inc. and NASCAR are different this time.
"Just money... They have the money to spend and the resources to support it like it needs to be supported," Elliott said as reported by the Speedway Digest. "Nowadays, asphalt racetracks across the country that aren't affiliated with NASCAR, ISC, SMI or whatever you want to call them, struggle. They just do and I hate to say that, but a lot of them do. This place needed NASCAR's involvement to become what it once was."
For Elliott, the return of North Wilkesboro Speedway is indeed a step in the right direction.
"This place has been around for a long time. It's kind of in the heart of 'NASCAR land', with Charlotte being right down road and all that stuff. So yeah, I think it's a good thing. The fan turnout was great last year, and I hope that continues," he added.
As his teammate Kyle Larson prepares for his Memorial Day double-header next week, Chevy star Chase Elliott now looks forward to winning his second All-Star race, which starts in a few hours. He will then make the trip to Charlotte for this year's Coca-Cola 600.
