The Untold Story Behind Chase Elliott’s Journey to Hendrick Motorsports

For years, Chase Elliott’s career at Hendrick Motorsports has appeared almost destined to happen.

The son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, Chase grew up surrounded by racing, developed a reputation as one of America’s brightest young talents and eventually became a NASCAR Cup Series champion behind the wheel of the legendary No. 9 Chevrolet.

But the story behind how Elliott actually found his way to Hendrick Motorsports is far less straightforward than it may appear.

Long before Elliott became one of the biggest names in NASCAR, before he won the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship, before he became one of the sport’s most recognizable drivers, there was a relatively quiet figure working behind the scenes.

That person was James Finch.

Finch was a former NASCAR team owner and a longtime figure in grassroots racing. More importantly, he had a relationship with Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports.

According to Elliott’s own account, Finch saw the young driver competing around the Southeast and helped put his name in front of Hendrick.

That introduction eventually changed everything.

James Finch Was the Connection That Opened the Door

The most important detail in Elliott’s story is that he did not simply arrive at Hendrick Motorsports because of his family name.

His father, Bill Elliott, was already a NASCAR legend, but Chase still needed someone inside the racing world to recognize his potential and make the right introduction.

That person was James Finch.

In an interview published by Hendrick Motorsports, Elliott explained that he was racing extensively around Pensacola, Florida, south Alabama and the Panama City area when Finch began watching him.

Finch had spent considerable time around grassroots racing and knew people in the regional racing scene.

He saw Elliott competing against drivers such as Eddie Mercer and apparently liked what he saw.

According to Elliott, Finch eventually mentioned him to Rick Hendrick.

That conversation became the first major step toward one of the most successful driver-team relationships in modern NASCAR.

The significance of that moment is difficult to overstate.

Without Finch making that connection, Elliott’s career could have taken a completely different direction.

As NASCAR previously reported, Finch’s phone call helped bring Elliott to Hendrick’s attention at a critical point in the teenager’s development. Hendrick himself famously summarized the situation by saying that his “talent scout” had alerted him to Elliott.

For a driver who would eventually become a Cup champion, it was an incredibly important introduction.

The Phone Call That Changed Everything

Elliott was still a teenager when Rick Hendrick reached out to his father.

At the time, Chase was not yet a NASCAR superstar.

He was simply a highly talented young racer trying to establish himself.

The next step was a trip to Charlotte.

Elliott recalled leaving school and traveling with his father to meet Hendrick.

What happened next became one of the most memorable early chapters of his career.

Rick Hendrick personally picked up Bill and Chase Elliott from the airport and brought them to the Hendrick Motorsports facility.

The team owner then showed the teenager around the organization.

There was no guarantee that Elliott would become a Cup Series star.

There was no promise of a championship.

There was simply an opportunity.

Hendrick told Elliott that he did not necessarily know exactly how he could help at that moment, but he wanted to help and see where the relationship could go.

For a young driver still in high school, that was an extraordinary opportunity.

Elliott later explained that the personal nature of that first meeting stayed with him.

Rick Hendrick could have handled the situation differently. Instead, he personally met the teenager, showed him the organization and began building a relationship that would eventually become one of the most important partnerships in Elliott’s racing life.

Chase Elliott Was Only a Teenager When Hendrick Entered His Life

The timing makes the story even more remarkable.

Elliott joined the Hendrick Motorsports driver development program in 2011, when he was only 15 years old and still a freshman in high school.

At that point, nobody could know exactly how far the young driver would go.

But Elliott quickly demonstrated that Hendrick’s confidence was justified.

He continued developing through the lower levels of NASCAR and eventually became a central part of the Hendrick development system.

His success accelerated dramatically.

In 2014, Elliott won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship with JR Motorsports.

He was only 18 years old.

That championship made him the youngest driver at the time to win a NASCAR national series title.

Suddenly, the teenager who had once walked through Hendrick Motorsports as a prospect was becoming one of the most important young drivers in American racing.

The Jeff Gordon Connection Added Another Layer to the Story

Another major piece of the puzzle came when Jeff Gordon prepared to step away from full-time Cup Series competition.

Gordon had driven the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports for most of his legendary career.

When Gordon retired after the 2015 season, Hendrick needed to determine who would take over one of the most recognizable seats in NASCAR.

The answer was Chase Elliott.

The transition was enormous.

Elliott entered the Cup Series full-time in 2016 and inherited the No. 24 Chevrolet.

He immediately showed that he belonged.

During his rookie campaign, Elliott won the pole for the Daytona 500, became one of the strongest rookie performers in years and qualified for the NASCAR playoffs. Hendrick Motorsports notes that his 2016 season included 10 top-five finishes, 17 top-10 finishes and two poles.

The young driver was no longer merely a prospect.

He was now a genuine NASCAR star.

Then Came the No. 9

For many fans, the most emotional chapter came in 2018.

Elliott moved from the No. 24 to the No. 9 Chevrolet, bringing his family’s most iconic number back into the Cup Series.

The No. 9 had enormous meaning because his father, Bill Elliott, had made the number famous during his NASCAR career.

For Chase, the number represented more than a racing identifier.

It connected generations of the Elliott family.

The move also coincided with a major breakthrough.

After finishing second eight times in his young Cup career, Chase Elliott finally reached Victory Lane at Watkins Glen International in August 2018.

It was the victory that confirmed what many people inside NASCAR had already believed.

The teenager Hendrick had taken a chance on years earlier was becoming a legitimate Cup Series winner.

The Championship That Completed the Transformation

Two years later, Elliott reached the highest point of his career.

In 2020, he won the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

The victory transformed his story from promising prospect to established champion.

It also created a unique family achievement.

Bill Elliott had won the Cup championship in 1988.

Chase followed him more than three decades later.

The Elliotts became one of the father-son combinations to capture NASCAR’s premier championship.

For Hendrick Motorsports, Elliott’s championship added another title to one of the greatest organizations in NASCAR history.

For Elliott personally, however, the achievement represented the culmination of a journey that began when he was still a teenager.

And that journey can be traced back to a connection that many casual fans may not know about.

James Finch.

“I Owe Everything I Have to Rick Hendrick”

While James Finch helped open the door, Elliott has never minimized the role Rick Hendrick played after that door opened.

In 2024, when Elliott reached his 300th NASCAR Cup Series start, he reflected on his relationship with Hendrick Motorsports.

Elliott said he had driven only for Hendrick in his Cup Series career and expressed a desire to remain with the organization for the entirety of his career.

He also described how much he owed Rick Hendrick for the opportunities he had received.

That relationship has gone far beyond a traditional driver-owner arrangement.

Elliott has described Hendrick as someone he can call for an honest conversation and someone whose advice and willingness to listen have become extremely valuable to him.

That personal connection helps explain why Elliott has remained so closely associated with Hendrick Motorsports throughout his Cup career.

The Person Behind the Opportunity Was Not the Person Most Fans Expected

This is where the story becomes particularly interesting.

When fans look at Chase Elliott’s career, several names immediately come to mind.

Bill Elliott is obvious.

Rick Hendrick is obvious.

Jeff Gordon is another major part of the story.

But James Finch occupies a much quieter position.

He was not the driver.

He was not the championship-winning owner.

He was not the famous crew chief.

He was the person who recognized a young driver competing in regional races and helped make sure Rick Hendrick knew about him.

That kind of influence can easily disappear from the headlines.

Yet without that connection, the path to Hendrick Motorsports might never have developed in the same way.

Chase Elliott’s NASCAR Career Was Built on More Than Talent

Elliott’s story is often described as one of natural talent.

And there is no question that talent played a huge role.

But his journey also illustrates how careers in NASCAR are shaped by relationships, timing, mentorship and opportunity.

James Finch recognized Elliott.

Rick Hendrick took the next step.

Bill Elliott supported his son.

JR Motorsports helped develop him.

NAPA became a major sponsor.

Hendrick Motorsports eventually placed Elliott into one of NASCAR’s most prestigious Cup rides.

Each piece mattered.

Remove one of those pieces, and the story might have looked completely different.

That is why Elliott’s path to Hendrick remains so fascinating more than a decade after the relationship began.

From High School Prospect to NASCAR Champion

Today, Chase Elliott is one of the defining drivers of the modern NASCAR era.

He has carried the legendary No. 9.

He has won races across some of the sport’s biggest venues.

He has captured the Cup championship.

He has repeatedly been recognized as one of NASCAR’s most popular drivers.

And he remains one of Hendrick Motorsports’ central stars.

As of the 2026 season, Elliott continues to drive the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, with Alan Gustafson serving as his crew chief. NASCAR’s current driver statistics list Elliott with two wins through 26 races in the 2026 season.

That means the relationship that began when Elliott was barely old enough to understand the scale of the opportunity continues more than a decade later.

The Bigger Lesson Behind Chase Elliott’s Story

The most compelling part of this story is not simply that Chase Elliott became successful.

It is how close his career came to taking a completely different route.

One phone call mattered.

One recommendation mattered.

One meeting mattered.

And one team owner was willing to take a chance on a teenager.

James Finch may not receive the same attention as the biggest names associated with Elliott’s career, but his role was pivotal.

He saw the young driver.

He spoke to Rick Hendrick.

Hendrick listened.

And the rest became NASCAR history.

That is why the story behind Chase Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports remains so powerful.

It was not simply a case of a famous racing family producing another successful driver.

It was the story of a young talent being noticed at exactly the right moment and being given the opportunity to prove what he could do.

Chase Elliott’s Future at Hendrick Motorsports

The question now is not how Elliott arrived at Hendrick Motorsports.

That part of the story is already established.

The more intriguing question is how much more the partnership can accomplish.

Elliott has already delivered the organization a Cup championship and established himself as one of its most recognizable drivers.

His long-term relationship with Hendrick gives him stability in an environment where driver-team partnerships can change quickly.

The 2026 season has already produced additional wins for Elliott, and his continued presence in the Hendrick lineup ensures that his story with the organization is far from finished.

For fans who have followed Elliott since his teenage years, there is something almost poetic about that.

The kid who once flew to Charlotte after school to meet Rick Hendrick is now an established Cup Series champion driving one of the most famous numbers in NASCAR.

And behind that journey sits a name that deserves to be remembered.

James Finch.

Final Takeaway

The headline may sound like a shocking new revelation, but the documented story is actually more interesting.

Chase Elliott’s path to Hendrick Motorsports was helped by a quiet connection between James Finch and Rick Hendrick.

Finch saw Elliott racing in the Southeast, recognized his potential and helped put his name in front of Hendrick.

Hendrick then personally met the teenager and offered to help.

More than a decade later, Elliott has become a NASCAR Cup Series champion, a multiple-race winner and one of the defining stars of Hendrick Motorsports.

The career-changing moment did not happen under the bright lights of Daytona or during a championship finale.

It happened much earlier.

It began with someone watching a young racer and making one important phone call.

And that phone call helped set Chase Elliott on the road to NASCAR greatness.