Chase Elliott to take over No. 24 car from Jeff Gordon in 2016

Reigning NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion Chase Elliott will take over the no. 24 car for Jeff Gordon in 2016

2015 will be Jeff Gordon’s metaphorical “final lap.” The legendary driver recently announced that the upcoming Sprint Cup Series will be his final season as a full time racer. When the time comes for the four time series champion and 92 time race winner to finally step down, a successor will take over his iconic no. 24 car. Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that Chase Elliott will be the man to take over for the retiring Gordon. Elliott is expected to move into the no. 24 car starting with the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

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Chase, 19, is the son of former series champion Bill Elliott. Bill won the 1988 Winston Cup Series Championship and has 44 Sprint Cup Series victories to his credit. He also was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver a record sixteen times. Thus, it would appear that the younger Elliott has quite the stock car racing pedigree.

It is a bold move to replace a legend like Gordon with Elliott, who will be a Sprint Cup Series rookie in 2015. However, despite his experience, Elliott has already crafted quite the resume. The Dawsonville, Georgia native is the youngest driver to ever win the Nationwide Series title, as well as the first rookie to ever win a NASCAR National Series title of any kind.

Set to be sponsored by Xfinity starting in 2015, that series will still serve to be Elliot’s main home for now as he is scheduled to run a limited amount of races in the upcoming Sprint Cup season. They are as follows; March 29th (Martinsville), April 25th (Richmond), May 24th (Charlotte), July 26th (Indianapolis), and September 6th (Darlington). For 2015, Elliott will drive the no. 25 car for Hendrick.

As for Gordon, his legacy is set firmly in stone. He will likely go down as one of the top five greatest drivers in the history of the sport. His 92 wins are a modern era record, and rank fifth all time. Only Richard Petty (seven), Dale Earnhardt Sr. (seven), and Jimmie Johnson (six) have won more Sprint Cup titles than Gordon. His 77 career poles, as well as 22 consecutive years with at least one pole are both records too.

Elliott certainly has some shoes to fill. Gordon, even at age 43 remains a fierce contender for a championship every season. Last year he won four races, and finished sixth in the final standings. It was the seventh time in his career he lead the series in total points on the season. This meant that under the pre-Chase format, it would have been a record tying seventh championship.

Rick Hendrick has faith in Elliott, though. He should. With his age, pedigree, and resume thus far, it seems like a natural fit. We will find out next year if he was truly onto something.

H/T NASCAR

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