Chase Elliott, NASCAR’s most popular driver for an unprecedented seven-straight years, has driven the No. 9 car for Hendrick Motorsports since 2018.
Before that, a teenage Elliott trotted out in both the No. 25 and No. 24 cars as he looked to get his feet wet in the Cup Series after breaking through in the Xfinity Series.
Speaking on ‘The Bobby Bones Show’ podcast, Elliott — ready to compete for his second Cup Series title this weekend when the playoffs start — opened up about how he was able to change numbers, citing how both Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr played a part.
He started by admitted that the number nine has “important family ties” before explaining how he switched. “The nine was not being used….it was kind of a free agent number,” he said. “It was owned by Petty Enterprises….kind of got passed down and passed down and it kind of got passed down so far that the nine was not being used.
“Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose [both used it], then I’m kind of not sure where it went after that. Then it kind of just disappeared for one reason or another; I don’t exactly know why. It ended up not being used.”
“Somebody had a conversation with Richard Petty and he said ‘hey, you can have it. Totally yours. You have family ties to this number and it would be really cool for you guys to take it.’ The king let us have it and we ran with it.”
Elliott, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, has 20 wins in 343 races in various numbers. He drove in the No. 25 car in 2014, the No. 24 in 2016 and 2017 (finishing fifth in 2017), and the No. 9 from 2019 onwards.