The 2021 USAC Midget slate kicks off this weekend at Bubba Raceway Park and Chase Elliott is making himself available.
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion will be driving in a NAPA Auto Parts sponsored No. 84 midget for CB industries will be taking to the track on Friday and Saturday.
The races this weekend will be Elliott’s last before going to Daytona to run his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in Speedweek leading up to the 2021 Daytona 500.
The move came together during this year’s Chili Bowl Nationals, where Elliott raced and talked to CB Industries team owner Chad Boat.
“I’ve been talking to Chase ever since he started doing a little bit of midget stuff,” Boat said in a USAC press release. “After Chili Bowl, he was looking to do a little bit more to get ready for Chili Bowl in 2022. I think it just made sense with us being down here close to what he’s doing for his other work. It just made sense for him that it would be a good place for him to come over and do it.”
Elliott didn’t get as much prep time in a midget for the famed off-season event in Tulsa, running just two exhibition races at Millbridge Speedway in December before embarking to Chili Bowl.
The kicker to this is that Elliott might run more races for CB Industries in the car this season.
He’ll have to navigate the NASCAR Cup Series schedule each week, but Boat doesn’t think it’s far-fetched to see the defending champion in a midget later this season.
“I don’t think we have a set schedule, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him run some more,” Boat said. “We’re definitely going to do Ocala and we’ll go from there. Obviously, he’s limited on what he can do, for sure, but he definitely wants to get more laps in, and I think you’ll see him pop up maybe whenever we can.”
The action at Bubba Raceway Park is scheduled to kick off on Friday night at 5:00 p.m. live as always on FloRacing.com.
