NASCAR star Chase Elliott‘s build-up to the Bank of America Roval 400 took a surprise twist thanks to two expecting fans. Following the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s dramatic recent win at the Hollywood Casino 400, he participated in a meet and greet with fans where he unexpectedly played a major role in one couple’s big reveal.
Handed a white No. 9 Elliott cap by the couple, he was also presented with blue and pink pens, along with an envelope. The mom-to-be then asked Elliott if he would reveal to them the gender of their baby and sign the hat accordingly.
They explained that they’d only been given the news that morning and that Elliott would be the first to know. “Well, I hope you’re wanting a boy because he’s on the way,” the 2020 Cup Series champion then revealed.
“That’s awesome, congrats,” Elliott then added, joking as he held the scans, “I don’t know what I’m looking at there…That’s a first, I’ve never done that.”
Elliott went on to ask the happy couple if they had a name in mind, to which both, perhaps unsurprisingly, said they liked the idea of calling him Chase. “I don’t know that I recommend that,” he commented.
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Elliott later shared the footage on his social media, captioning the clip, “These two came out to fan day and asked me to do their gender reveal. That was a first…Congrats you two!”
The 29-year-old is set to return to the track in search of his third win of the season on Sunday in Charlotte, where he’ll look to end the Round of 12 on a high note, having already secured his place in the next round thanks to his win in Kansas.
Previewing the Round of 8, Elliott told Kevin Harvick he’d like to head to the opener in Las Vegas with another win to his name. “You probably know me well enough to know I’m a week-to-week person. And my mindset right now is, how can I position our team to get five more points this week? And that’s going to do nothing but just help us when we get to Vegas,” he said on the ‘Harvick’s Happy Hour‘ podcast.
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Another win would also help solidify his points position, given that he admitted that Vegas had previously “been a little bit of a struggle for us.” That being said, he remained upbeat after “a really respectable run going there last fall.”
Elliott added, “Another step in the right direction of improvement this past spring. And certainly I think with our performance at Kansas this weekend, I think some of that can translate to Vegas too.”
NASCAR’s trip to Nevada will be followed by two vastly differing prospects in the ever-unpredictable Talladega and the short track at Martinsville. “The big one’s just Talladega and what’s going to happen there, and whether or not we can get through the mess,” Elliott said. “And I feel like if we can do that, we have a real shot to make it to Phoenix.”