Chase Elliott explains the dynamics behind changing his spotter for 2024 NASCAR season

NASCAR Most Popular driver Chase Elliott and the #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team will have a new spotter for the first time in his full-time NASCAR Cup Series career. Trey Poole, a cousin of Elliott, has replaced Eddie D’Hondt, a long-time spotter of HMS.

Chase Elliott reflected on the decision to change his spotter, Eddie D’Hondt during FOX Sports preseason production days on Thursday. The #9 HMS driver admitted that changing his spotter for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season was a collective effort by the team. He also said that making a change in the spotter position was necessary, and he felt it was the right time to do so.

Explaining the decision behind his spotter change, Chase Elliott said (via foxsports.com):

“It was a group effort. We just got to a point where we felt like if we were going to make a change, now was the right time to do it.”

“This is year nine, right? It's like if you're going to make a transition or try something different, it just kind of felt like now was the time to do it,”

D’ Hondt has spent seven seasons with Elliott since the driver started full-time Cup career at HMS in 2016. Elliott’s former crew chief spotted him to 18 wins and part of his 2020 Cup championship campaign. The championship-winning crew chief D’ Hondt will spot for Josh Berry, who replaced retired Kevin Harvick in the #4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in 2024.

Trey Poole had served as Elliott’s second spotter at the road course and fulfilled the primary role on a part-time basis in 2021. Speaking about his new full-time spotter, Elliott said:

“Trey had kind of been our No. 2 spotter for the past number of years and we just felt like, of what was out there, that was the right fit, and it was the right choice for our team and ultimately, just trying to perform at our very best.”

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“Ed's been a great teammate” – Chase Elliott shares good bond with his former spotter

Despite the change, the 2020 Cup champion praised his former spotter as a great teammate and still shares a strong relationship with him. Elliott also stated Eddie D’Hondt’s significant contributions to HMS over a decade.

On former spotter, Elliott said:

“Ed's been a great teammate, I love Ed. We still have a good relationship even today. He's been a huge part of our team for a long time. I don't want that to get lost in translation. I think a lot of him as a person, and he's done a lot for me.”

Chase Elliott confirmed that he is preparing for the Busch Light Clash exhibition race amid post-surgery recovery.