Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday that Chase Elliott will be joining the NASCAR on FOX telecast for Sunday’s race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).
Elliott and the No. 9 team won the inaugural event at the 20-turn, 3.41-mile road course in 2021. That victory also marked Chevrolet’s 800th win. Elliott’s seven road course wins are the most among active drivers and the third-most in series history, so he has plenty of insights when it comes to serpentine layouts.
The 2020 champion will remotely serve as a guest commentator during the race. The 27-year-old will miss his fourth consecutive race as he recovers from a fractured tibia following a snowboarding accident earlier this month. He underwent successful surgery and the team’s release on Tuesday, March 7, says that the approximate recovery time is expected to last six weeks.
While Elliott has been out, Josh Berry drove the No. 9 Chevrolet at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Phoenix Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. Road racing standout Jordan Taylor will be behind the wheel for the 68-lap race at COTA.
Elliott has been in-person in the TV booth on two other occasions, both times as an analyst for the network’s Xfinity series coverage in 2017 and 2018. Both races were at Atlanta not far from Elliott’s hometown.
“Honestly those guys are so good at it, especially (Adam Alexander),” Elliott said prior to the 2018 Atlanta Xfinity race. “He does a really good job with it and he’s gotten used to having guests, I think, in the booth, so he does a great job of throwing it to you at the right times and not making it awkward, allowing me to give some input when I need to and keep my mouth shut when I need to as well.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.