What’s Happening?

Season one of “NASCAR: Full Speed” on Netflix had a noticeable absence of Chase Elliott. This was understandable given that Elliott, despite being NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, was not in the Playoffs. With Netflix expected to come back in 2024, Dale Earnhardt Jr. asked Chase Elliott on the Dale Jr. Download about joining the docuseries, but Elliott doesn’t seem interested.

• Chase Elliott is the 5-time defending winner of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award. He is the son of Bill Elliott, 1988 NASCAR Cup Series Champion and 16-time Most Popular Driver.
• Chase is known for being a more reserved personality. As a result, he’s more private about his personal life, and he is far less outspoken than other drivers.
• Fans are not surprised by Elliott’s comments, but many fans are disappointed. The most popular driver in the sport is not as willing as other drivers to put himself out there.

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What Chase Elliott Had to Say

Chase Elliott joined the Dale Jr. Download on Wednesday for a rare, long-form interview. In it, Dale Earnhardt Jr. asked Elliott if he would join the Netflix docuseries should he be asked. Here is what Elliott said.

I don’t know. obviously, I didn’t do it last year. I haven’t watched it at all, so I think my first step to answering that question would be to watch a little bit of it and just see how bad they would piss me off being around all the time. It might not be the most entertaining thing or the most popular answer or whatever, but, dude, I really just want to go fast, and I want to do my job at a high level, and if I feel like there’s anything that’s going to take away from that I’m probably going to say no to it.

Chase Elliott

Like it or not, this is an answer that fans have to respect to some degree. Elliott is a competitor, and his job at Hendrick Motorsports is to go out and win races. Considering that he’s in the midst of a 1+ year-long losing streak, it’s understandable why Elliott would want to prevent unnecessary distractions.

Elliott is also a more reserved personality, to begin with. Some drivers prefer to stay out of the spotlight and let the actions on the track speak for themselves. Martin Truex Jr. is another driver who somewhat falls into this category.

However, having the sport’s Most Popular Driver unwilling to participate in arguably the sport’s biggest marketing tool is tough for NASCAR. Elliott has a large enough fanbase to “Move the needle” as they say, but, he doesn’t want to put himself out there.

This does raise an interesting question. Should Elliott find his footing and be relevant in the conversation towards the end of the season, how much of a choice will he have in joining the Netflix docuseries?

Will Elliott Even Have a Choice?

When “NASCAR Full Speed” premiered, the docuseries focused on multiple drivers, but, each of the Championship 4 were honed in on as the series progressed. Much has been made about Christopher Bell as “Not in the plan” until he became a Championship contender.

Hypothetically, if Chase Elliott makes it into the Round of 8 or especially the Championship 4, how can Netflix not follow him to some extent? That’s like watching the original Star Wars trilogy but cutting out Han Solo or Princess Leah.

Of course, Netflix cannot force Elliott to let them into his home, but they must acknowledge his existence in this scenario. They can get creative with this by setting up interviews with Elliott at the race shop or including press conference soundbites, but either way, Elliott is going to be featured in some way in this scenario.

Obviously, if Elliott does not make a deep run, or if he misses the Playoff entirely, Netflix can get away with not including him. However, the opposite scenario is quite tricky.

Will Chase Elliott be included in the next NASCAR Netflix docuseries? We will see if/when season two comes out.