Chase Elliott has been voted as NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver for several years now and he showed why at Indianapolis this weekend. It was but a simple gesture towards his fellow competitor Denny Hamlin that won the fans’ hearts on social media.
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NBC Sports captured a video where the Hendrick Motorsports driver was seen handing a piece of paper to the 23XI Racing owner. Turns out that it had important information about the team and the #9 driver did not even look at it, and returned the same to Hamlin. The gesture was appreciated by the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran during a latter media interaction.
Good guy Chase Elliott. 😆
Watch this exchange between him and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin. #Brickyard400 pic.twitter.com/sL1ydTsnw0
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 20, 2024
“A stand-up guy,” the #11 driver called his potential title rival. The HMS star could have taken it back to his garage or taken a glance at what was on the piece of paper. However, he refused to use such underhanded tactics to gain an advantage over his rivals. It did not take long for fans to sing the praises of the 2020 Cup Series champion. The wins might have been hard to come by these past couple of years but Elliott seems to have remained his classy self.
“Of course he’s a stand-up guy! You won’t find one better,” wrote a fan on Twitter. “That’s why he is the Most Popular Driver in NASCAR these days,” another user wrote. Elliott has won that title for six years straight. After this gesture, he probably has made a case for himself again. His father Bill Elliott holds the record for winning that title more than anyone in the history of the sport, standing at a staggering 16 wins.
“I don’t care what anybody says, it’s hard not to like @chaseelliott as a person…all around nice guy….his mama raised him right,” one user quipped. “Chase has always been classy.,” commented another. Clearly there is a lot of love for the Hendrick Motorsports superstar.
He might be a nice guy off it but on the race track, few are as competitive as the 2020 champion. Last season, Elliott missed several races due to injury and missed out on the playoffs. He has secured a round-of-16 spot this season and has been running consistently well. At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he will be looking to win his second race this season.
The #9 driver came close to winning on the Indy road course last year but fell short.Starting the famed event right behind Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick on the front row, Elliott will be seen firing off from P3 on Sunday.
