JUST IN: Is Chase Elliott NASCAR’s Last Old‑School Driver… or Just Stuck in the Past?
IBADAN, July 18, 2025 — In an era dominated by flashy media personalities and daredevil driving, Chase Elliott — the son of NASCAR legend Bill Elliott and a 2020 Cup Series champion — stands out. Not for his bold talk or aggressive antics, but for a driving style and persona that some critics argue belongs in a bygone NASCAR era.
On track, Elliott races with surgical precision and unwavering consistency. Long hailed as one of NASCAR’s most steady drivers, he resists the modern temptation toward flash. Fans have called him “predictable” or even “dull,” suggesting his focus on results over theatrics feels old‑school in today’s spectacle-driven sport.
In recent interviews, he pushed back:
“I’ve never been one to chase drama or put on a show. I race because I love the sport, and I do it the best way I know how.” In his view, satisfying fan expectations for spectacle would compromise his integrity.
Meanwhile, veteran critics accuse him of benefiting from NASCAR’s “special treatment.” After a deliberate wreck with Denny Hamlin during the 2023 Coca‑Cola 600, he was suspended for only one race—a leniency many legends argue would have drawn harsher punishment in past decades. That, his critics say, points to legacy privilege—not old‑school honor.
Elliott’s commentary on throwback traditions further inflamed tensions. At Darlington’s Throwback Weekend in April 2025, he dismissed the ceremony as having “lost its luster” and claimed—controversially—that NASCAR “rode the horse to death.” Fans viewing the revival of retro liveries as a heritage celebration felt betrayed by the sport’s Most Popular Driver downplaying tradition.
Ironically, Elliott still embraces classical racing values like short tracks and road courses, advocating for a diverse schedule and resisting the modern over-focus on mile‑and‑a‑half superspeedway. On innovations like the Next Gen car and electric vehicles, he’s cautiously optimistic, blending respect for NASCAR’s heritage with a measured openness to change. That hybrid stance complicates the narrative: is he a relic or a considered traditionalist?
Fans are split. Some see him as the sport’s last bastion of authentic NASCAR: steady, respectful of racing roots, and committed to substance over flash. Others dismiss him as vanilla—signed to media-friendly safety but lacking charisma and flair. Reddit users bluntly describe him as “as bland as a bag of Healthy Choice potato chips.
Add fan backlash to his Darlington remarks and internal conflicts with fellow veterans such as Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch—and the picture becomes messier. He’s not just traditional: his equanimity has frustrated those craving depth or drama.
So is Chase Elliott old‑school? Maybe. But critics argue he’s less a principled throwback and more a comfortable reminder that tradition can clash with expectation in modern NASCAR. Love him or loathe him, his quiet resolve is creating one of the sport’s most divisive identities.
What do you think—does Elliott embody true old‑school values, or is he stuck between eras?