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TALLADEGA, Alabama – Facing the fans close to the start / finish line after their victory Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, a waterfall of applause overwhelmed Chase Elliott in a way that the most popular driver of the sport had not known of his previous victories.
"I was in the country there when I was looking for the checkered flag," Elliott said after his victory. "Every time I got up, the crowd got up. Every time I got bitten, they got stung. It's something you can never take for granted.
"Those moments … you'll never forget, I'll never forget, and I'll definitely not, because those races are too hard to win for not enjoying those moments."
While the roar of the crowd might not have been as loud as the applause of Dale Earnhardt or Dale Earnhardt Jr. when they won at Talladega, no other driver received more applause. these last years.
This is another sign that Elliott's popularity continues to grow.
But that does not mean it's Elliott's job to take the sport to the next level. Such pressure should not be exerted on the 23-year-old in his fourth full season of the Cup. His goal is to improve performance and help Hendrick Motorsports get out of the funk that has limited his visits to the path of victory.
There is no doubt that Elliott will be one of the leaders in NASCAR's evolution. His voice gets stronger as he feels more at ease in a role where his words carry weight. He also understands that there are others who will play key roles now.
When asked if he was carrying the banner at Hendrick because he was the only rider on the team to win since last year, Elliott said succinctly, "I think as long as a seven-time champion is in the building, he will always carry the banner. "
Elliott's fondness for teammate Jimmie Johnson also shows the young man's humility and understanding, including Kevin Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, among others.
Just as important for the future of the sport will be what NASCAR leaders will do with schedule changes, the Gen-7 car in 2021 and other modifications to improve the race.
If done right, Elliott and others will benefit. These acclaims heard by Elliott Sunday in Talladega could be even more dramatic in the future.
The first four wins of Chase Elliott took place on four different types of tracks.
He won his first career victory on the road course at Watkins Glen. He then followed the same path last year by imposing on Dover (high lane on a bench) and Kansas (1.5 mile). On Sunday, he won at Talladega, a superspeedway.
Martin Truex is the only active driver to win a road race among his first four playoff wins. Jr.
His first victory came to Dover, then to Sonoma. Then come Pocono (2.5 mile trail), then Charlotte (1.5 mile Speedway).
Kyle Larson defended Crew Commander Chad Johnston in light of Kevin Harvick's comments last week about Johnston.
Harvick spoke of the Larson crisis last week on his "Happy Hours" show on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. During the discussion, Harvick raised the issue that Johnston could help prevent Larson from remaining mentally depressed during such a period.
Larson said about Johnston: "I think Chad is an excellent crew chief. He has proven himself since he and a few other guys came to our team after the first two seasons of my cup. It was then that we teamed up and started winning races and arguing. I therefore have all the confidence of the world. him. … Chad Johnston has all the confidence in the world. "
The Wood Brothers are back in the Race Team Alliance.
As reported by Adam Stern at Sports Business JournalWood Brothers Racing joined the RTA earlier this year.
The Race Team Alliance brings together most of the charter teams with a charter and provides them with a way to work together on issues such as rule changes, cost issues or finding sponsors. Thirteen organizations, representing 28 of the 36 chartered cars, are members.
The Wood Brothers left the CRJ after receiving none of the 36 charters in 2016.
Jon Wood, director of business development for the Wood Brothers, said it made sense to join the CRT.
"To keep negative feelings on something that happened three years ago would be only to our detriment", Wood told NBC Sports. "We left the CRJ at that time, not because we were angry at any of them, but more because we did not have our place at the time. We were not eligible to be voting members, they had their own goals and we had ours. Now, these goals overlap and what benefits us benefits us. "
Kyle Busch's 10th place finish Sunday in Talladega continued its top-10 start to open the season. The last time a driver was ranked in the top 10 of each of the first 10 races of the year was Morgan Shepherd in 1990, driving for Bud Moore, owner of the Hall of Fame car.
Shepherd extended her series that year to 11 races with a sixth-place finish at Dover. The series ended in the next race when he finished 29th in Sonoma after a broken engine.
As states and the Food and Drug Administration seek to end the confusion surrounding the use of CBD, a cannabis compound, this brings us to the question of what NASCAR would approve of as a team or track sponsor.
CBD is the abbreviation for cannabidiol and is the non-intoxicant molecule found in hemp and marijuana. Both are cannabis plants but only marijuana has enough THC compound to push users up.
CBD has been added to a variety of products, including lotions, cosmetics, diet pills, sweets and beverages. The FDA is scheduled to hold a public hearing on May 31.
With respect to NASCAR, the Sponsorship Directive states that any CBD product may not contain THC, which is prohibited under the NASCAR Drug Policy. If a team applies and the company claims there is no THC in its products, NASCAR would allow it to have the product tested in a NASCAR-approved laboratory and have the results reviewed before any sponsorship endorsement.
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