As both a die-hard NASCAR fan and a proud Georgian, I could scarcely be more giddy over yesterday's announcement that Chase Elliott and NAPA Auto Parts will be partnering for a full slate of NASCAR Nationwide Series races this season.
The excitement meter over having an Elliott back racing full-time in one of the top series for the first time since 2003 is absolutely pegged. No one wants to put too high expectations on Chase, lest he become another prospect that doesn't pan out. Reed Sorenson has already filled that role for the Georgia racing faithful, though hope remains that somehow, some way, the Peachtree City native might eventually find his way back at least into a top-tier Nationwide ride. If most area fans were asked I'm sure they would much prefer Chase spend enough time in the Nationwide car to make sure he's fully ready to be thrust into the Sprint Cup Series, rather than being pushed far too soon as Chip Ganassi did with Sorenson (and may be repeating that sin with Kyle Larson, though only time will tell).
Still, it is hard not to be excited and hopeful that Chase will one day bring top-level racing glory back to the state and give local fans a reason to cheer that has been largely absent since Bill hung up his full-time racing shoes following that '03 campaign. Perhaps he can stand alongside McDonough's Jason Heyward - the Atlanta Braves right fielder who is on the verge of becoming one of baseball's elite - as Georgia's next great homegrown sporting talent.
To local fans, Chase has already stepped out from under the shadow of just being Bill Elliott's son. He is a tremendous racer in his own right, as evidenced by his dominance of short track racing's premier events over the last couple years and his great - though controversy-marred - NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win on the Mosport road course in Canada. It won't be long, I don't believe, before the rest of the country catches on and he begins to shed that title.
While everything pales in comparison to the fact that Chase will be driving full-time on the Nationwide tour, there is plenty of excitement to be had in the fact that NAPA is remaining in the sport after all. Times have been kind of lean for Georgian race enthusiasts in terms of our local sponsors. Coca-Cola, Aaron's, and Aflac remain committed to the sport, but UPS has announced they're pulling out at the end of this season, the Home Depot - once one of NASCAR's most-visible sponsors with a full-season presence - has cut down to fewer than ten races as a primary sponsor of Matt Kenseth's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and until yesterday it appeared that NAPA would be severing ties with NASCAR altogether.
It would be hard to blame them, given the embarrassment brought on them by the Michael Waltrip Racing/Richmond scandal. A lot of the anger in the aftermath of that whole debacle was resultant of the fact that a respected company like NAPA that stuck with Waltrip through some very lean times like the fiasco that was MWR's inaugural campaign in 2007, would be dragged through the mud like that. It would have been 100% understandable - though still just as disappointing - had they dropped their NASCAR program entirely.
Instead, after being bounced from one Chase last September, they have found what looks like a very bright future with another one.
It is a win-win situation for us Peaches. The son of perhaps our greatest sporting icon - a terrific racer in is own right - and one of our top companies are brought together with a beautiful blue and yellow Camaro that will no doubt be a hot diecast seller among collectors. The only thing that could make the story any better would be if Georgia's most-famous company got on board and Chase were to become a member of the Coca-Cola Racing Family and shed that Pepsi Max nonsense that appeared on his uniform last season.
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