On Tuesday, Action Express Racing announced that Chase Elliott will drive the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi car at next month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. He will be joined by Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani, and Mike Conway. The 25-year-old from Dawsonville, GA, is the son of former NASCAR champion Bill Elliott. Chase is coming off winning his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Elliott won one pole with five wins, fifteen top-five, and twenty-two top-ten finishes this year on his way to winning the championship. Two of his wins came at road courses at the Charlotte Roval and Daytona. Those wins extended his road course winning streak to four, dating back to 2019 at Watkins Glen International and the Charlotte Roval.
In a team statement, Elliott said, “The Rolex 24 is such a major event, and it’s a race that anybody across any type of motorsports really respects. I think everyone wants to win a watch before their career is over. It’s something different and a completely different element of racing that I haven’t really tried before. I’m trying to branch out and be more diverse as a driver and this is another part of that experience. I appreciate Action Express giving me this opportunity and I am looking forward to learning and running my first Rolex 24 next month.”
While Jeff Gordon was the last NASCAR driver to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2017, two-years after he retired, both Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson were the last active Cup Series drivers to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2015. Other NASCAR drivers to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona were Juan Pablo Montoya in 2007, 2008, and 2013. AJ Allmendinger won in 2012, Scott Pruitt in 1994, 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2013. Casey Mears won the Rolex 24 in 2006, and Mark Martin in 1995.
The 2021 IMSA season starts with the Roar before 24 at Daytona from January 22nd through the 24th. The Rolex 24 at Daytona will take place a week later on January 30th through the 31st.
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