After a long wait, Chase Elliott has 'no excuse' not to challenge in the Slinger Nationals
SLINGER – This one’s been on the list for a while.
Officially seven years. That’s how long it’s been since Chase Elliott came to the Slinger Nationals for the first time with a plan to race and then had that opportunity pulled away at the last minute.
But he has thought about it more casually many times since, until finally making it happen.
“The schedule worked and everything came together,” the 2020 NASCAR Cup champion and five-time most popular driver said Monday morning before making his first laps at Slinger Speedway.
“This is a race I’ve wanted to do for a long time and we just never did it. It never worked out. Obviously it’s a long ways to come here. When I was racing these cars a lot we just never ventured up this far. Always admired the track and thought it was really cool and it seems like a really neat event.
“Hopefully we can go do all right. That’s the big thing now.”
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Elliott is arguably the biggest name on a talent-riddled roster alongside recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Matt Kenseth. The Cambridge native and 2003 Cup champion has competed semiregularly in the Nationals for 30-plus years and will be looking for his record-extending eighth title on Tuesday.
Other NASCAR drivers include William Byron, the defending race winner and the leader in the NASCAR Cup Series this season with four victories; and Erik Jones, a NASCAR Truck Series champion and Cup race winner who came within a bump from Kenseth of winning the 2016 Nationals.
Top super late model barnstormers include Snowball Derby winner Derek Thorn, Redbud 400 winner Steve Dorer and All-American 400 winner Stephen Nasse. Seymour native Ty Majeski, who fits into that category as well, is a two-time winner of the event, and Luke Fenhaus of Wausau, the 2021 winner, is part of the Chevrolet NASCAR development program.
Elliott, 27, has been racing short-track stock cars since he was 13, although he didn’t get into super late models – the premier asphalt cars in this part of the country – for several years.
He had easy access to a guy familiar with winning the Slinger Nationals in his first try. Byron is Elliott’s Cup Series teammate, and they flew to Wisconsin together Monday morning after racing Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Byron won.
“We haven’t talked a ton about it,” said Elliott, who is driving Ricky Turner’s car while Byron races with Anthony Campi. “But that’s why we’re here today. We’ve got plenty of practice today so we’ll see what it is.
“You’ve got, like, six hours of practice today. I don’t think there’s any excuses for not being ready.”
The Nationals made its name by bringing in high-level NASCAR stars such as Bobby and Davey Allison, Rusty Wallace, Ernie Irvan and even Dale Earnhardt to join on-their-way-up talents such as Mark Martin and Alan Kulwicki, regional barnstormers the likes of Dick Trickle and Joe Shear and top weekly regulars.
As NASCAR grew, so did the effort needed to attract its stars to short-track events. With a more demanding schedule, fewer stars on the level Elliott is now wanted to race and those who did could command substantial appearance fees. With more Cup races nearby and second-level NASCAR races at the Milwaukee Mile or Road America, fans also had more options of places to watch their heroes in person.
Ten years ago, Slinger Speedway promoter Todd Thelen made the conscious effort to go away from bringing in mid-level NASCAR names and focus on making the Nationals a race that would draw the best from the short-track world.
Now he has the best of both worlds competing for $20,000 to win Tuesday night, and Elliott is glad he is getting his chance to be part of it. Hendrick Motorsports scuttled his first try at the last minute, dubiously citing a sponsor conflict.
“The Cup teams are more open in general to us doing this stuff more a little nowadays than they were probably 10 years ago,” Elliott said. “But I do think it comes to the driver and how much they want to go run.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: NASCAR star Chase Elliott ready for his Slinger Nationals debut
