Chase Elliott is many things -- Xfinity Series champion, Cup Series champion, pilot, and diehard Georgia sports fan. Yet, some people are unaware of how deep his love of music, particularly country music, goes.
The best example of this is asking the 2020 Cup Series champion to name his favorite concert. Before the question is complete, he will have an answer.
"Eric Church at Red Rocks (in Colorado)," Elliott told AltDriver at Talladega Superspeedway. "When he played out there -- it's probably been 10 years ago -- best show I've ever seen.
"And if I have a chance to go watch him out there again, I would do everything I could to make it happen. It was an incredible show."
Name-dropping Red Rocks is only one indication that Elliott is heavily invested in music and live performances by extension.
This is a venue mentioned in the same breath as the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. It holds a special place in the hearts of music fans.
Bigger venues exist in the United States, especially ones with more comfortable seating. Yet, they don't provide the same feeling to the artists or attendees.
"Just one of those special venues, a place where I feel like, guys like (Church) or people like that, they don't need Red Rocks," Elliott said. "Red Rocks is only -- I don't even know what it is -- like 10,000 people or something. It's a small venue.
"And so those guys don't play it because it's a part of their tour. They play it because they love it."
Photo credit: Getty Images
Talking about his favorite concerts and venues is only a small glimpse at Elliott's music knowledge. He can quickly rattle off artists and songs spanning multiple genres.
Elliott can tell you about his era listening to Blink-182, Green Day, and other artists in the pop punk world. He can reminisce about going to a Rod Stewart concert with his parents as a child and getting an autograph from the multi-time platinum-selling artist.
And no, he doesn't have any guilty pleasure bands. Everything is on the table, as long as it is good.
"When I got my driver's license, there was no one to give me s--- for what I listened to or what I didn't listen to," Elliott said. "Most of the time when I'm riding up the road, I'm riding up the road by myself, and I enjoy being the DJ. I don't have to impress anybody."
Elliott can also explain how specific songs tie into very specific moments throughout his life.
"Toby Keith comes to mind right now," Elliott said. "His 'Should've Been a Cowboy' song. My dad's best friend -- my godfather -- was carrying me around, taking me fishing and stuff when I was a kid, and he was always playing that when we were riding up the road."
Elliott has shown this passion for music throughout his life while attending concerts, and he has done so throughout his career while using the Bristol Night Race walkout songs to highlight underrated groups like Muscadine Bloodline.
This passion has led to some cool experiences for Elliott as he has become friends with Eric Church, as well as Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton from Muscadine Bloodline. He has crossed paths with other prominent artists such as Chase Rice at the track and away from it.
Last June, Elliott joined forces with SiriusXM. He served as a guest DJ on The Highway station while playing songs from Church, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, and Megan Moroney.
Another example is a joint interview he and Church did in 2023 that covered a wide variety of topics. He also has competed against and with Muncaster in both video games and in the real world.
"Well, Charlie is a much better golfer," Elliott said about these friendly competitions. "Charlie plays a lot of golf. But even if I played as much as Charlie does, I don't know that I'd be as good as him. He slaps it around pretty good.
"...Back when 'Call of Duty' was kind of hot and heavy, we would get involved in some of that."
Elliott didn't set out to become friends with these artists. He wasn't using his racing fame to get exclusive sitdowns or experiences. As he describes it, they just happened almost supernaturally.
Take Muscadine Bloodline as an example. Elliott liked the group's music, so it was part of his rotation when driving around. Muncaster was apparently a fan of the 2020 Cup Series champion, which he showed by purchasing a hat.
Elliott didn't expect their paths to ever cross, but there was just a mutual respect between high-profile people in wildly different industries.
"That's just so cool to me because I think he's the type of guy, too, where like if we had never spoken, I would still listen to his music and he would probably still buy my hat," Elliott said.
These friendships did happen, which led to some fun experiences for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. This trend will now continue with another unique moment in Elliott's life. He will take part in the ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards on May 8 (8 p.m. ET on Prime Video). He will serve as a presenter.
Elliott will join a packed group that also includes Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Clint Black, ERNEST, Gretchen Wilson, Lee Ann Womack, Lionel Richie, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, Rita Wilson, Sara Evans, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Wynonna Judd.
Joining some of the biggest names in country music for this event is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For Elliott, it's another really cool experience created by his passion for music and his ties to the industry.