“I’d rather it be in Winston-Salem than Los Angeles”: Chase Elliott unloads his ‘logical’ message behind his Bowman Gray verdict

In August, the Stock Car Racing Association announced that the historic Bowman Gray Stadium would return to the Cup Series for the 2025 season. Chase Elliott explained the logical reason behind the decision. He was recently featured in an interview with Sportsnaut and highlighted he would rather be in Winston-Salem than in Los Angeles.

The Bowman Gray Stadium will return to stock car racing in February 2025 after a 51-year hiatus. Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the stadium features a quarter-mile flat asphalt oval track. Elliott highlighted that the track is short for his liking, but he finds it logical to host the event there rather than going to Los Angeles.

“But look, if we’re going to have an event like that, if we need to fulfill television partner obligations, I’d rather it be in Winston-Salem than Los Angeles just from a logistical standpoint. I think the racing will be similar. I think the TV entertainment value will be really similar but it will be a heck of a lot closer for all the teams in the Southeast,” explained Chase Elliott.

The Winston-Salem track is about 90 minutes away from most of the race shops and drivers' homes. Hendrick Motorsports driver is not the only one who finds this logical, his teammate William Byron also agrees with Elliott.

Byron highlighted that he could drive his car to the track for the race. Also, Team Penske driver Austin Cindric is in favor of hosting the event at Bowman Gray Stadium.

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Some interesting facts about Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott has become one of the renowned drivers in the Cup Series and has won seven consecutive Most Popular Driver awards. However, there are still some facts that many may not know about.

The #9 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver is the son of NASCAR veteran Bill Elliott. The father-son duo are multi-time Most Popular Driver award winners and joined the club alongside the Earnhardts (Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and Pettys (Lee Petty and Richard Petty).

This might surprise you, but Chase Elliott is just the nickname for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. His real name is William Alude Elliott II, named after his father. One of his family friends gave him the nickname Chase after they thought William Clyde didn't suit his personality.

Elliott drove various numbers other than the #9 Chevy Camaro ZL1. He drove the number 25 Chevy during his part-time career in HMS in 2015. Then, he took over four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon's #24 and drove it for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In 2018, he switched to the #9 Chevy and won a championship title in 2020 in the same car.

Apart from racing, the 29-year-old driver is enthusiastic about aviation. His father influenced him to get his aviation license, and now he flies his own planes.