Elliott takes Chevy Camaro for first NASCAR Cup laps at Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Chase Elliott took the new Chevrolet Camaro for its inaugural NASCAR Cup laps on Tuesday and Martin Truex Jr. climbed into his Toyota for the first time since becoming series champion. Soon-to-be clean-shaven Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola, both with new teams, ran laps at Texas Motor Speedway in their Fords.

A month before every driver will be at Daytona for the start of the new season, the four drivers took part in the first test of 2018 as a two-day Goodyear tire test began on the 1 1/2-mile, high-banked track in Texas.

The highlight was Elliott getting in the Camaro ZL1, though it was hard for him to judge how much different Chevy's new Cup entry will be when driving laps alone.

"I have a hard time feeling much of anything I'm going so fast," Elliott said. "But, the car looks great. From the public eyes standpoint, I don't know how you could not identify the Camaro with the Camaro on the street. It looks the same. I think that is something to be very proud of from Chevrolet . ... Job well done from that standpoint."

The Chevy Camaro has only two Cup Series victories to its credit, both by Tiny Lund in 1971. More recently, the Camaro SS has been Chevrolet's entry in the Xfinity Series since 2013.

Along with a new car, Elliott sported a new number. After following four-time champion Jeff Gordon in the No. 24, Hendrick Motorsport this year is putting the 22-year-old Elliott in No. 9 — the car number of his father, Hall of Famer Bill Elliott.

"Is it my favorite number? Yes, it is. Has it always been my favorite number? Yes, it has been," Elliott said.