Millionaire Chase Elliott drops heartfelt reflection on his first NASCAR Cup start and the passage of time

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott has recently opened up about his first race nearly ten years ago and his decade-long career in the series.

The $12 million-worth Hendrick Motorsports driver (according to Celebrity Net Worth) made his debut in the Cup Series in 2015. Elliott started in 27th place at Martinsville Speedway and ended the race with a 38th-place finish due to car troubles. In a recent interview, he reflected on his first Cup race and shared his perspective on each passing season.

"It's just honestly crazy that it’s been that long, to be honest. It’s just gone by so fast. Every year has felt so different to me. I think people look at careers and they think of just this one big storybook, with every year being a different chapter. And to me, it’s almost like every year is its own book. That’s how different the seasons feel to me," Chase Elliott said via NBC Sports.

"Just so much changes. I mean, I was 20 or 21 years old my first year, and now I’m almost 30...That’s just a huge chunk of your life that just makes things feel different, you know?" Elliott added.

Elliott made five starts that year and later took over Jeff Gordon’s famous No. 24 car for his first two full-time seasons in the series. He finished in 10th and 5th place overall in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and was also awarded Rookie of the Year in 2016.

"I've enjoyed that ride. Some of its been really good ... some of it's not been so good. But there’s a lot of experiences in all of that that I think can help shape you and mold you to be better, and the only thing you can control is today moving forward," Elliott said.

Elliott, 29, has collected 19 Cup Series wins in 322 races over the last ten years.

"I think is pretty good" - Chase Elliott on Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track

Chase Elliott recently spent two days in Mexico City and toured the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track where NASCAR will race in June. Last year, the sanctioning body announced a new addition to hold its first-ever points Cup race outside of the US.

The track, which hosts the Mexican Grand Prix, will be different for NASCAR at 2.417 miles with 14 turns. While sharing his thoughts about the track, Elliot said (via hendrickmotorsport.com),

"The track layout, actually, I think is pretty good. It’s very F1 like. F1 kind of has a style of track - their tracks are unique in different ways and there’s always one part or piece of a layout that makes each track and venue they visit different."

Meanwhile, Chase Elliott is set to race at another road course, Circuit of the Americas (COTA), this weekend. Instead of the usual 3.41-mile, 20-turn course, the race this year will feature a shorter 2.3-mile, 20-turn layout. It will also have 100 laps instead of 68.

Chase Elliott won his first Cup Series race at Watkins Glen in 2018 and has raced on 14 road courses in the past three years, with a top-five finish in half of them.