Like father, like son: Elliott switching to 9
Days before the annual throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports announced a throwback chapter for one of its drivers beginning in
2018.
Chase Elliott will switch car numbers from the 24 he has used for the first two full seasons of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career — and by Jeff Gordon to win four championships — to the 9 employed by his father, Bill, who won 38 races and the
1988 series title with the number. William Byron, who will replace Kasey Kahne for the fourcar team next season, will assume the 24 decals as the current crews are scheduled to remain with the cars.
Chase Elliott, 21, won the 2014 Xfinity Series crown in a No. 9 Chevrolet fielded by Hendrick partner JR Motorsports.
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever drive the
9 again,” he said in a release. “It’s a huge deal to my family and everyone back home (in Georgia), and I hope all of our fans will be pumped to see it back on the racetrack. There’s a legacy attached to that number, and I want to carry it on. I think it’s awesome that Hendrick Motorsports and NAPA wanted to do this. It’s impossible not to be excited.”
Elliott is seventh in the Cup standings. Coincidentally, Kahne succeeded Bill Elliott in the No. 9 Dodge at Evernham Motorsports in 2004.
“I know what the 9 means to Chase and his whole family,” team owner Rick Hendrick said in a release. “They’ve contributed so much to our sport, and I’m happy we can honor that history by bringing the number back. I think fans will really love seeing it out there.
“I told Chase we’d only do it if he promised to win a bunch of races, so I’m going to hold him to that.”
Byron, 19, will make his Cup debut next season as teammates with Elliott, Alex Bowman, 24 — who is replacing retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet — and defending and seventime champion Jimmie Johnson, 41. Byron is in his first Xfinity season with JRM.
“Jeff and Jimmie are the drivers I’ve always watched most closely and tried to learn from,” Byron said in a release. “I didn’t think I could be more motivated, but when Mr. (Rick) Hendrick called to tell me (about driving the No. 24), it took things to another level.
“I have so much respect for all the people who have contributed to the success of the 24. I know it’s rare to have the chance to be part of something like this. I’m going to make the most of it.”
Hendrick has not made a number change for a full-time Cup car since introducing the No. 88 — which harkened to Earnhardt’s family legacy — in 2008.