2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott spoke about his participation in different disciplines of racing this off-season.
Elliott has already participated in the Snowball Derby and made his debut in dirt midget racing after winning the 2020 Cup Series championship. He will be making his debut at Chili Bowl Nationals next week. Additionally, he will also make his debut in the Rolex 24 sports car race at Daytona International Speedway.
Speaking about these off-season races that he is participating in, Elliott said:
“As I’ve got into Cup, I feel like I’ve kind of let that get away a little bit and I haven’t really put the effort into going and racing,” Elliott told. “I’ve always enjoyed it. When people ask, I’ve always said, ‘Yes, I’d like to do more of it,’ and I did. I’ve always wanted to do more and get back involved. I just didn’t put the effort into doing it.
“I just felt like, last year, I needed to kind of get back to doing some of the things I’ve really enjoyed, and honestly, that’s racing for me. I’ve realized too that although our schedules are busy, there’s still time to go race and explore other things such as dirt racing if you make time for it.”
Elliott is of the opinion that he should participate in as many events as possible when he is young.
“As you get older, I think it becomes harder to learn new disciplines,” he said. “Fortunately, I’m still in my 20s and I think it’s an achievable skill set to still go out there and try to learn now.
“Would that be the case if I was 35, instead of 25? I think it would be much harder to go and do.”
As for next week’s event, Elliott is looking to learn from reigning Chili Bowl champion Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe, both of whom have dirt racing experience.
“I think I have a lot to learn, and I think next week is gonna be really, really hard,” Elliott said.
“My expectations are very low. But I do just want to learn, continue to do that and make all the laps out there. Wherever we run, we run. Just try to learn the right way.”
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