"I don’t really have a ton of interest" - Chase Elliott sees 'no competition' in NASCAR-Le Mans experiment

While NASCAR's Garage 56 entry drew eyeballs from all over the globe, the sport's return to the historic Le Mans circuit in France does not particularly excite Chase Elliott. The Hendrick Motorsports driver, whose team is in charge of building the car the sport takes to France, recently spoke on how it is a competitive environment that he enjoys the most in motorsport. Elliott believes Garage 56 is a showcase of innovation rather than a race, which does not entice him enough to take part.

Tire manufacturer Goodyear and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) teamed up with NASCAR to announce their plans to take a modified seventh-generation Cup car to Le Mans earlier this year. The car in question will be designed and built by premier Cup Series team Hendrick Motorsports with Vice President of Competition and ex-crew chief to Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus, behind the reigns of the project.

NASCAR Cup Series drivers will not be able to make it to the event even if they want to, as the recently announced 2023 season calendar shows that the sport is headed to Sonoma Raceway from June 9 to June 11, which is when Le Mans is scheduled to run as well. Chase Elliott spoke about the initiative and his lack of interest in the same after last weekend's Bass Pro Shops Night Race, where he finished P2, and said:

“The reason being is because there’s no competition in the class, I want to go and compete. And that’s the part that I enjoy. When there’s no other cars in the class, that would take a large piece of the fun out of it for me. Granted, we can’t do it anyway (because of the schedule), but I don’t really have a ton of interest in the way that is right now. Maybe if it changes down the road, sure. But not this one.”

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Chase Elliott speaks on Next Gen car's mechanical failures in NASCAR 2022 Bass Pro Shops Night Race

Hendrick Motorsports driver and 2022 NASCAR Cup Series championship contender Chase Elliott was one of the handful of drivers who did not face severe mechanical and/or tire issues last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. 'The Last Great Colosseum' saw multiple cars face tire blowouts as well as blown engines and malfunctioning power steering systems as Elliott made his way to a P2 finish at the end.

The 26-year-old commented on the failures others experienced post-race and said:

“It was exactly kind of what we thought it might be. Power steering problems, that had been a topic of conversation, there’s tire issues as well.”

Watch the complete interview below:

Watch Chase Elliott compete in the Round of 12 this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500.