A growing number of NASCAR drivers have begun trading their firesuits for polo shirts as eager participants on the fairway, and Chase Elliott firmly joined the pack last year.
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Though best known for his skills behind the wheel, Elliott admitted that some time back, he had grown surprisingly competitive on the golf course. However, his friend and fellow competitor Ryan Blaney was quick to knock him down a peg.
In his chat with NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck, Elliott confessed to getting caught up in the heat of the game before facing the cold truth: he wasn’t nearly as skilled as he thought. That reality check, however, helped him shift focus and start enjoying the sport rather than obsessing over his scorecard.
Still, old habits die hard. He narrated how, if he’s out playing with the guys and a hundred bucks are riding on it, it leads to some competitive juices flowing. But Elliott added that the obsession had cooled off compared to where he was a year or two ago.
Blaney, keeping with the tradition of passing a question along in the 12 Questions interview series, didn’t miss his shot to poke fun at the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
He asked Elliott, “When are you ever going to get better at golf, and how many hours will you have to put in to get to my level?” Elliott couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow! Wow. It’s a valid question,” he said. “I go through these little pockets where I get better, and then I fall back apart again.”
“For the record, I’ve hung with him a few times. I’m not as good as him… I’d love to get out more and play and try to give him a run. But listen, I want to be able to go beat him. There’s nothing like going to play somebody like him who’s going to give you a bunch of crap for it and him have to give me strokes. That just sucks. So maybe one day. We’ll keep chipping at it,” Elliott added.
The No. 9 Chevrolet driver had previously told Dale Earnhardt Jr. that he was all at sea when he first picked up a club but slowly found his swing. For him, golf turned into more than a pastime; it became an escape hatch from the continuous pressure of stock car racing.
As for Blaney, he’s made no secret of his love for the game. On a podcast appearance with ESPN 101, he shared that he only picked up golf during the COVID lockdowns, having grown up in a family that never touched the sport. But once he started, he was hooked. Now, he regularly hosts tournaments alongside fellow drivers who share his passion for the greens.
Back in May, just ahead of the Texas race, Elliott took to Instagram to post a series of photos from a visit to the PGA Headquarters, captioned, “Made a quick trip to @pga HQ yesterday before we get to racin’️.” For a guy known for pushing the limits on the track, it’s clear the quiet challenges of golf are proving just as irresistible.
