Bill Elliott, not Chase Elliott will drive for GMS Racing at Road America XFINITY Series race
By Nick Tylwalk
Awesome Bill from Dawsonville will make his first NASCAR start of any kind in six years at Road America.
Most sports wouldn’t let a Hall of Famer return to active competition at age 62. Then again, most sports aren’t NASCAR, and most Hall of Famers aren’t Bill Elliott.
One of the most popular drivers in NASCAR history will return to the track at Road America on Aug. 25, driving for GMS Racing in the XFINITY Series road course race in Wisconsin. Elliott, who was part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2015, last competed at the summer Daytona Cup Series race in 2012 for Turner Motorsports.
Elliott’s last full season was all the way back in 2003, though he continued to drive part time until six years ago and ran nearly a full season in 2008 for Wood Brothers Racing. GMS Racing announced Saturday that the 16-time Most Popular Driver award-winner and 1988 Cup Series champion would fill in behind the wheel of its No. 23 ISM Connect Chevrolet in the Johnsonsonville 180 later this month.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bill (Elliott) to the GMS Racing family,” GMS Racing president Mike Beam said in a press release. “Bill has many years in NASCAR and it’s going to be great to watch him come back, especially in GMS equipment. Bill and I worked together back in the day and had a lot of success so hopefully we can pick up where we left off and create some more great memories.”
Though Elliott has 43 XFINITY Series starts — which is one less than his career Cup Series win total — he’s never competed at Road America. The No. 23 Chevy was to have been driven by Spencer Gallagher for the entire 2018 season, but those plans changed once he was suspended for violating NASCAR’s substance abuse policy. Though he’s since been reinstated, his playoff eligibility evaporated with his penalty, and GMS Racing has used a rotating series of drivers int he car since then, including one that Elliott knows quite well.
“When this opportunity came up from Mike (Beam), I had to jump on it,” Elliott said in a press release. “Chase (Elliott) has ran a handful of races for the team so I figured I would give it a shot at Road America. Beam and I have worked together in the past so it will be exciting to get back behind the wheel and bring back some old memories.”
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As for any worries about a 62-year-old behind the wheel, older drivers like Morgan Shepherd have competed in the NASCAR Cup Series this year, and GMS Racing actually has good equipment. We’re guessing Awesome Bill will pass at least a few cars at Road America, and there should be plenty of cheers from the fans in Wisconsin when he does.