Chase Elliott win at Talladega last Sunday secured him a place in the the next round of NASCAR’s Cup Series playoffs.
It may also have guaranteed him a future home in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
With his fifth win in 2022, Chase now has 18 career wins, along with a championship (same as Kyle Larson, by the way).
Chase was previously tied at 17 with 1961 Daytona 500 winner Marvin Punch and Hall of Famer Curtis Turner, who would have won many more races had he not spent some time in cars with NASCAR executive Bill French Sr. ( another story for another day ).
BEFORE WRIGHT BROS?:Talladega, the first in high speed, but also the first in flight? They think so KEN WILLIS
MARIA’S DREAM TEAM:Will Richard Childress and Kyle Busch battle for seven NASCAR championships with Dale Earnhardt?
With 18 wins, along with Larson, Chase is also tied on the all-time list with a group of notables: Jeff Bodine, Neil Bonnet, Harry Gantt, Ryan Newman and Casey Kahn.
Just one win above him at 19 are a pair of Hall of Famers, Buddy Baker and Davey Allison, as well as Greg Biffle and Fonty Flock.
By this time next year, it looks like Chase should start picking off the other Hall of Fame drivers on this list. Three are in the modest range – Bobby Labonte and Benny Parsons at 21 and Terry Labonte at 22.
Joe Weatherly, another Hall of Famer, is 25, and fellow draftees Fred Lorenzen and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are 26, all of which are possible if Chase has a good 2023.
Frankly, Chase could already be Hall’s lock. The only past Cup champions not in the Hall of Fame are those still racing or, in the case of Jimmie Johnson, recently retired (he will be eligible in 2024).
While Chase can likely retire after this year, at the ripe old age of 26, and still be a future Hall of Famer, he has a lot of work to do before earning bragging rights at the Thanksgiving table.
Father Bill Elliott is still 26 wins ahead of his own, with 44. He was also a Cup champion (in 1988) and a 2015 Hall of Famer.
