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Elliott — BILL, not Chase! — to race at Road America

So there’s a bunch of people sitting in the media center after a long day at the track, waiting on Cup qualifying to start, and I hear other media members start talking about Bill Elliott.

I’m barely listening. It’s background noise, but they’re sort of laughing incredulously and joking about something related to Bill Elliott. He’s coming back to drive again, they’re saying.

Yeah, OK, right. Not sure why this is the topic of humor, but like I said — it’s been a long day.

But then I scroll back through Twitter and it hits me: Wait…they’re saying Elliott is going to drive an Xfinity race…..and he really is?

This has to be a joke. April Fools? No, it’s August. Fake news? I open my email. And there’s the press release from GMS Racing.

It’s real. Bill Elliott — BILL — will race the No. 23 car at Road America on Aug. 25.

WHAT!? Bill Elliott is 62 years old! He’s in the Hall of Fame already. And…he’s going to drive another NASCAR race.

That is a shocker right there, my friends. Who could have seen that one coming?

Upon further review, it’s not a complete surprise. (Actually, what am I talking about? It’s totally a complete surprise.)

But what I was going to say is when I heard Nate Ryan’s podcast with Ray Evernham in May, Evernham was talking about how he and Elliott ran the Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am event together — which is held on the road course inside Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

So although Elliott hasn’t run a NASCAR road race since 2007, he was just road racing two months ago en route to a third-place finish (combined with Evernham).

Elliott hasn’t really stopped racing. In NASCAR,  yeah. But it’s not like he’s been sitting on the couch. So this should be interesting.

Can he beat the Xfinity regulars? Can he beat open-wheel guest stars like Katherine Legge and Conor Daly?

I don’t know the answer to any of those questions. But I know this: I’m pretty sure I’ll be watching now.

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News Analysis: Hendrick Motorsports changes numbers

What happened: Chase Elliott will switch from No. 24 to his family’s famed No. 9 next season — along with the current No. 24 team — and the current No. 5 team with William Byron will instead become the No. 24 team. The No. 5 will not be used by Hendrick next season, though team owner Rick Hendrick said in a news release he would not rule out its return at some point in the future.

What it means: Bill Elliott used the No. 9 for a large part of his career and son Chase followed suit as he rose through the ranks, so this is a dream come true for the Elliott family. Meanwhile, Byron now will enter the Cup ranks with higher expectations on his shoulders. Even though it’s just a number switch — and Byron will be with what is now the No. 5 team, which has underperformed — the prospect of Byron in Jeff Gordon’s car number is significant. Longtime Elliott fans may be on board with the move, but newer Elliott fans — many of whom had warmed to the driver because he was Gordon’s successor in the 24 — may be wondering what to do now.

News value (scale of 1-10): Seven. Even though it’s just a number change, it’s a pretty big deal to have a new driver in the famous No. 24 car, see the No. 9 return with an Elliott driving it and watch the cursed No. 5 car disappear — all in one announcement.

Three questions: Will Gordon fans who started backing Elliott because he was in the No. 24 follow the driver to the No. 9, or will they root for Byron and stay with the number? Will the No. 9 team be able to shake whatever bad luck comes with being the “fourth” number at Hendrick (No. 5, No. 25)? What is our obsession with car numbers in NASCAR and why does it seem bigger than jersey numbers in other sports?