Chase Elliott will take the wheel of the Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado at Bristol Truck series race becoming the latest Hendrick Motorsports driver to make an entry in the series.
Chase Elliott will drive the No. 7 truck in the dirt race at Bristol, making him the third HMS driver to do so in as many events.
Hendrick Motorsports has turned Spire Motorsports’ NASCAR Camping World Truck Series programme into a playground. After Alex Bowman and William Byron, two of Hendrick’s four drivers, made starts in the #7 Chevrolet Silverado RST, Chase Elliott is the next man up, with plans to run Saturday’s Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Race.
The current points leader and 2020 Cup Series winner had only sixteen Truck starts between 2013 and 2021, including seven in his rookie year before stepping up to the now-Xfinity Series a year later. In the series, he has three victories. Elliott’s most recent Truck appearance was in Texas in 2021, when he placed second.
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, has only a few Truck starts under his belt. He has, however, won three times in his 16 starts. This will be his first outing since finishing second to John-Hunter Nemechek in Texas in June 2021.
HendrickCars.com will be the principal sponsor once again.
“Driving the No. 7 Chevy Silverado at Bristol this weekend is definitely something I’m looking forward to,” said Elliott in a release from the team.
“These trucks always look like a lot of fun to race on dirt, and this team has had some great runs this year and put together a solid program in a short amount of time,” he added.
“I’m excited to see what we can go out there and do on Saturday night.”
The Truck race at Bristol, like Bowman’s at COTA and Byron’s at Martinsville, is designed to give Elliott more track time before the Cup race the next day.
In the inaugural Cup Bristol Dirt Race in 2021, he finished eleventh. Bowman was in contention for the lead until last-lap contact relegated him to twenty-sixth, while Byron won his race.
While Elliott isn’t as accustomed with dirt track racing as teammate Kyle Larson, who was widely expected to be in the Spire #7, he has competed in quarter midgets to hone his talents.
He competed in the renowned Chili Bowl Nationals in January, winning a heat race but flipping into the barrier. He had dabbled in Nitro Rallycross at the Florida International Rally and Motorsports Park a month before.
“The opportunity to have a talent the calibre of Chase Elliott, a NASCAR Cup Series champion, drive for Spire Motorsports at Bristol Motor Speedway, is an incredible opportunity for our NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team,” said team co-owner Jeff Dickerson.
“Chase is a generational talent and someone who can win anytime he gets behind the wheel of a race car. He’s won at every level of the sport and we’re exceptionally fortunate and appreciative that he’s agreed to drive our truck.”
