NASCAR
Hall of Fame Driver Bill Elliott to Run Xfinity Series Race at Road America for GMS Racing
In one of the more surprising and unexpected announcements of the race season, Bill Elliott stated that he would come out of retirement for the Xfinity Series race at Road America. This news dropped just a day before his son, Chase Elliott, scored his first career Cup Series win. Oddly enough, this happened at another road course, Watkins Glen. The former champion and Hall-of-Fame driver will pilot the 23 Chevrolet for GMS Racing this weekend.
How Elliott Chose to Come Back to Racing
Since his ‘retirement’ from NASCAR competition in 2012, Bill Elliott has been running several vintage road course races. These include starts in series such as SVRA, and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Many of these races have been run alongside Elliott’s former team owner, Ray Evernham.
On the most recent episode of the NASCAR On NBC Podcast, Chase Elliott revealed how his father decided to race with GMS at Road America. Chase has driven the GMS 23 Chevrolet in select races this year. Some race dates were still open for other drivers in the GMS Chevrolet. Chase jokingly told the team to ask his dad about running a road course race. The decision was made for Bill Elliott to race in the 23 at Road America.
At the age of 62 years old, Elliott is the first Hall-of-Fame driver to attempt a race. With his long time out of the sport, Elliott will ironically have to attend the rookie meeting at Road America. This is despite winning the 1988 Cup Series championship and 45 races between both series.
When Chase Elliott won 2 weeks ago at Watkins Glen, Bill was spotting for the 9 team. Chase will return the favor this weekend, being an additional spotter for the GMS 23 at Road America. Chase also emailed Bill some track notes from his last start at Road America in 2015. Although Chase has 2 Xfinity starts on the 4-mile road course, Bill has never turned a lap at Road America.
Throwback Scheme for Bill Elliott
The 23 car has a special paint scheme this weekend for Bill Elliott as well. Rather than the usual blue and white scheme, it will be all red with white trim. The car will match the colors that Bill Elliott ran in the early 1990s for Junior Johnson. With lots of experience on road courses, it is not unlikely to see ‘Awesome Bill’ racing in the top half of the field this Saturday. While a win may be lofty expectations for the veteran driver, GMS Racing could deliver a solid result.
How to Watch the Road America Race
The 9th annual Johnsonville 180 from Wisconsin’s Road America will be live on Saturday, August 23 at 2:30 PM EST. Full coverage of the event will be on NBCSN, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. As a 16-time Most Popular Driver, many fans are happy to see Bill Elliott back behind the wheel. Tune in to see how the Hall-of-Fame driver does on the 4-mile road course!
