Chase Elliott reminisces about getting in trouble watching Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2014 Daytona 500 win - “I was late at school Monday morning”

Hendrick Motorsports unveiled Chase Elliott's throwback scheme for the NASCAR Cup race at Darlington Speedway. Elliott will be paying tribute to Dale Earnhardt Jr's 2014 Daytona 500 victory when he took his #88 National Guard Chevy to the victory lane.

Elliott's #9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will adorn the colors of Dale Jr's iconic National Guard scheme. The #9 HMS Chevy is sponsored by Unifirst, with the company's logo altered accordingly to match Dale Jr's popular scheme.

Chase Elliott revealed the scheme to Dale Jr. and reminisced about the memories tied to the race. Elliott recalled that he was juggling school and racing in the Nationwide Series in 2014. He revealed that he stayed up late watching the race and got into trouble the following day for being late to school.

The 2020 Cup champion said:

"When I first learned about it, the first thing I thought of was I got in trouble. I was late to school Monday morning because I stayed up all night watching you win this race."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was shocked to learn that Elliott was in school during that season. He replied:

"Really, you were in school?... Oh my gosh!"

NASCAR Cup Series most popular driver expressed his honor in running the scheme that has long been associated with Dale Jr. The #88 HMS Chevy driver was thrilled to see the livery and urged Elliott to park the car in the victory lane.

"I think I'm the one that's honored here. Pretty awesome! It looks like it's going to be fast. Let's get a win!"

Chase Elliott's #9 Unifirst Chevy will hit the ground during the throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway in early May. The Goodyear 400 is scheduled on May 12th.

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Exploring Chase Elliott's 2014 NASCAR season

Chase Elliott was rising through the ranks of junior stock racing series in the early 2010s. Following his part-time schedule with Trucks in 2013, Elliott made his Nationwide Series (Xfinity) debut the following year, at the age of 18.

Before watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. win the Daytona 500, Elliott drove the #9 JR Motorsports Chevy to a 15th-place finish in his maiden outing at Daytona. He took his first victory in his sixth start at Texas Motor Speedway and racked up two more wins at Darlington and Chicagoland Speedway.

The Dawsonville, Georgia native was crowned as the series champion in 2014 and returned behind the wheel of his #9 Chevy the following year. He took one victory and was classified second in the standings in 2015.

Chase Elliott graduated to the Cup Series in 2016, teaming up with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports.