Chase Elliott Signs With JR Motorsports For Special One-Off Start

What’s Happening?

NASCAR Cup Series veteran Chase Elliott will make his 2026 CARS Late Model Tour debut with JR Motorsports later this month at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

• Elliott will drive Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s iconic stylized No. 8 with sponsorship from NAPA for this one-off start. The race will take place on Friday, July 17, prior to Sunday’s Cup Series race at the track.
• The 2020 Cup Series Champion has one prior CARS Tour start to his record. This start came in the now-defunct Super Late Model division at Hickory, where Elliott finished second to his future HMS teammate William Byron.
• This race will serve as Elliott’s first start at North Wilkesboro in the series, though it is not his first at the track in a Late Model. In 2010, he won the PASS South Labor Day Classic 200, one of the track’s first events held following its closure in the late 1990s.
• Overall, the upcoming race weekend at North Wilkesboro is one of the track’s most historic weekends in history. That Sunday’s Cup Series race will serve as a bookend for the track’s unlikely return that began in 2020.

Stay close to the on-track action this weekend and every weekend by following our Race Weekend Dashboard for everything you need to know before, during, and after the race. Share your thoughts by joining the discussion on Discord or X, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for further updates.