Chase Elliott will drive 5 XFINITY Series races for GMS Racing
By Nick Tylwalk
As he continues chasing his first Cup Series win, Chase Elliott will get a chance to possibly rack up some XFINITY Series victories as well.
GMS Racing has needed some driving help for the No. 23 Chevrolet in the NASCAR XFINITY Series ever since Spencer Gallagher was suspended a few weeks ago. Why not turn to Chase Elliott, one of the most popular drivers in the sport, to fill the seat in some of the remaining 2018 races?
Why not, indeed. The team announced Monday that Elliott will drive its car this weekend at Charlotte, and for four more races after that: Pocono, Chicagoland, Daytona and Bristol. He’ll be sponsored by Hooters, at least for the Charlotte race.
Because of the limits placed on Cup Series drivers, GMS Racing can’t just turn the car over to Elliott for the rest of the year, but his presence does give it more options as it bides time while Gallagher goes through the Road to Recovery program. Johnny Sauter, who races for the team in the Truck Series, drove the car to a sixth-place finish at Dover.
Elliott competed in the 2018 XFINITY Series opener for JR Motorsports, finishing 12th. Prior to that, he hadn’t made a start in the series since the summer of 2016, and he’s never raced for anyone but Dale Junior’s team at that level of NASCAR. He is, however, a former XFINITY Series champion, winning that title in 2014 and nearly repeating in 2015 before moving up to the Cup Series the following year. Elliott has five XFINITY Series victories, the most recent coming in the first Daytona race in 2016.
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More than anything, though, it assures both GMS Racing and the XFINITY Series of a little more star power over the summer. With the Dash 4 Cash races behind us, the Cup Series drivers can continue to make cameo appearances, and Elliott will almost certainly be running near the front in his races.