Driving the No. 9 Chevrolet ZL1, Chase Elliott has secured 19 wins and amassed 171 top-10 finishes out of 322 starts over a decade. Primarily, he has piloted the #9 car across most series, with exceptions only during his early years in the sport. As he began his journey with Hendrick Motorsports, the prospect of one day taking the wheel of Jeff Gordon’s iconic #24 car was intriguing, yet it didn’t consume him.
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During a 2013 conversation with NASCAR Illustrated, Elliott discussed the circulating notion of him stepping into Gordon’s shoes, especially as Jeff’s career was winding down and Elliott’s was gaining momentum. Elliott expressed that while inheriting the #24 wouldn’t be undesirable, it wasn’t a source of pressure for him. His main focus remained squarely on clinching more race victories, not on the number painted on his car.
He said, “I don’t think that’d be a bad thing for sure. But no it’s nothing that I spent a whole lot of time thinking about. I’d be lying to you if I said I haven’t thought about it. Who wouldn’t want to drive that car when they get older? So, but in the same sense, for me, I’m just kind of taking a race at a time.”
Further continuing, he added, “I feel like if we can get some wins and get some results and just have a good number of years and if I can just do my job behind the wheel, I think a lot of things will figure themselves out. And if one day that’s where I end up that’d be great. But you know I’m not going to think about it and just work on what we have going on now.”
He was elated that despite Rick Hendrick’s preference for seasoned, battle-tested competitors — fueled by the conviction that leading a top-tier NASCAR team required immediate success and steadfast consistency — he took a gamble on Elliott with a driver development deal.
Hendrick typically shied away from green talent, considering the nurturing process a risk to the team’s immediate performance in exchange for future prospects.
By the time of the interview, the #9 HMS pilot had already made a definitive mark in the NASCAR K&N East Series, seizing his first NASCAR win at Iowa Speedway on May 19, 2012.
Besides that, he also clinched his Truck Series victory at the 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville and crossed the finish line in ninth place at a Daytona ARCA Racing Series event.
Did Elliott ever take the wheel of Gordon’s famed car?
Though Elliott began his stint in the NASCAR Cup Series behind the wheel of the #25 car as a part-time driver in 2015, his transition to a full-time role in 2016 saw him inheriting the #24 car from Gordon, who had hung up his helmet as a full-time driver at the end of the 2015 season.
During his tenure with the #24 Chevy, Elliott secured P10 and P5 finishes in the championship standings, with the help of ten top-5 and twelve top-5 in the two consecutive seasons respectively. A trip to victory lane eluded him, though. It wasn’t until 2018, when he switched to the No. 9 car, that Elliott would finally celebrate a win.
Today, it is William Byron who upholds the #24 car’s legacy, steering it into the future.
