Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021 on January 21, and it seems that Chase Elliott contributed to it.
Earnhardt Jr. might not be as successful a driver as his father but he did and still does have a big influence in the NASCAR industry. Voted as the NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver from 2003-17, Earnhardt Jr. won 26 Cup races in his career.
His other involvement in the NASCAR industry is with JR Motorsports. And in particular, it was one involving Elliott as a driver for Earnhardt Jr.’s team that won the Hall of Fame inductee more points in terms of getting the induction.
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To be precise, Elliott won the Xfinity Series championship with JR Motorsports in 2014. And it is only natural that Earnhardt Jr. choose the 2014 trophy to be included in his Hall of Fame case.
Earnhardt Jr. also spoke about the role of Elliott in his induction. He said:
“Chase did what we thought Chase would do. That’s a great example of a guy coming through our system. JR Motorsports has to work as a farm team, an asset to a Cup organisation. The minute it’s working right, the turnover and the people coming in and out of here. Going back to them, it’s so fun to watch. So while the championship’s on the sheet, that’s why you’re putting me in this Hall of Fame. All those people walking around in the garage that ever worked here, that turned to you and said, ‘An opportunity came because of that’. That’s awesome.”
JR Motorsports will field Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry and Noah Gragson as their driver for the 2022 season in the Xfinity Series. Earnhardt Jr.’s recently spoke about exploring the possibility of JR Motorsports going into the Cup Series in the future.