Ever since Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart left NASCAR, star power has been lacking. So, why isn’t Chase Elliott doing more off the track? As the sport’s most popular driver, should Elliott put himself out there more often?
Kevin Harvick interviewed Denny Hamlin recently and the two talked about Elliott’s role in NASCAR. The Hendrick Motorsports driver shrugged off the idea that he would participate in Season 2 of NASCAR: Full Speed if Netflix wants to have another go around.
Meanwhile, Hamlin put his entire life out for fans to see. It was a big reason why he was featured so heavily. Harvick and Hamlin both think Chase Elliott should do more.
“I would pick Chase Elliott,” Harvick answered as the driver he wants to see put themselves out in the public more.
“I would [too],” Hamlin agreed. “Chase Elliott is a very important person in our sport. I think he knows it but I don’t think he understands how big his influence is on our sport. When I hear him speak on Dale Jr.’s podcast about, ‘Listen I just want to be the best race car driver I can be,’ that is understandable. And that is someone who is focused on their career and doing the best they can for their team.”
Being focused on the race track is the top task for Elliott and other drivers. But there is more to being a pro athlete than competing.
“But there’s a show to it,” Harvick interjected. “There’s a sense of entertainment that has to go with this for us to have these personalities.”
“There is, and on top of that there is, in my opinion, it’s just my opinion, there’s also somewhat of an obligation to help grow the sport,” Hamlin continued. “Now, the sport has to do its own due diligence on promoting it, that’s a whole other subject. But the drivers themselves have to be accessible to get to understand the personalities. Because we love watching sports because of the superstars, they can do things that we cannot do.
“I love watching the NBA because they can do athletic things that I never could dream of, that’s what interests me, right? We want to show people how great Chase Elliott is at his craft but you got to get a little bit of the insight of what makes him great for people to know it and understand it.”
Chase Elliott is talented. He has had struggles since last season. However, this is a champion of the sport. Elliott is the most popular driver since Dale Earnhardt Jr. hung up his racing gloves. That comes with a certain level of responsibility. Elliott needs to step up in that regard.
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