“He knew there was some change coming”: Chase Elliott reveals Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s involvement in his switch to No. 9

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott recently sat down with Bobby Bones on the BobbyCast podcast on YouTube. During the interaction, the host questioned Elliott about his transition from the #24 Chevy to the #9 Chevy, and the latter revealed the involvement of former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the switch.

The 29-year-old driver debuted in the Cup Series with Hendrick Motorsports over a decade ago in 2015 as a part-time driver. Following his remarkable performance, he landed a full-time seat the next year. Since then, he has been competing for the team and proved his mettle, securing a Cup Series championship title in 2020.

However, in his debut season, Chase Elliott drove the #25 Chevy. He then drove Jeff Gordon's #24 Chevy for two seasons in 2016 and 2017 before transitioning to the No. 9 car. Additionally, the #9 number has a history with the Elliott family. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native's father, Bill Elliott, made his Cup Series debut driving the #9 Ford for Elliott Racing and drove it throughout his career with multiple teams.

After getting the opportunity to switch, Elliott took it and shared how Dale Earnhardt Jr. supported him in the decision. Chase Elliott stated (via YouTube):

"When we had some switch-up at Hendrick, I think in 2018 was the year, there was actually—Dale Jr. really deserves credit for the number switch from my perspective, because he's like, 'Hey, if you're going to make this change,' and kind of knew I wanted to do it, even though I never really said. He was like, “Hey, you need to speak up about this right now because you probably aren’t going to have another opportunity to do it.” He knew there was some change coming." [09:28 onwards]

"Yeah, so I kinda, thanks to his nudging, I reached out to the boss and was like, 'Hey, what do you think about doing this, or can we do this? Is this even possible?” Somebody had a conversation with Richard Petty, and he said, “Hey, you can have it. We’re not using it. Totally yours. You have family ties to this number, and it’d be really cool for you guys to take it if that’s what you want to do.” So, the 'King' let us have it, and we ran with it, which is pretty neat the way it all worked out," Elliott concluded.

After securing a solid P10 finish at Daytona International Speedway last weekend, Chase Elliott is set to compete in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, August 31, 2025. USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 will broadcast the 367-lap race live at 6:00 pm ET.

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"I'm doing my part": Chase Elliott opened up about what mattered to him before securing his maiden win this season

Earlier this year, Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott sat down with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for an interview on the Dale Jr. Download podcast. During the interaction, Elliott opened up about the most important thing that mattered to him while he was struggling to land a win since his early victory in 2024.

The #9 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver had a good start at the beginning of the 2025 Cup Series season and won the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. However, it was a non-points-paying race, and his winless drought lasted till the second Atlanta Motor Speedway race this season. Recalling the same, Elliott told Dale Jr.:

"Man, we've just been doing this long enough to know, like, it all kind of starts and ends with us. We have to make sure we're doing our part, and I'm doing my part and just bringing everything I can possibly bring every single week. It's the honest conversations that we have on Monday mornings that are either going to make us better or make us fail. All of the pieces of the puzzle are there. We're working on the right things. I think I'm asking for the right things out of the car. I'm really proud of our team for just sticking together." [00:05 via Dirty Mo Media on X]

Chase Elliott currently ranks seventh in the Cup Series points table with 2013 points to his credit. He has secured one win, 13 top-ten finishes, and seven top-five finishes in 26 starts this season. Additionally, Elliott has led 385 laps in 2025 with an average finish of 11.962.