Chase Elliott accepts Smokey Yunick Award on behalf of his uncle Ernie Elliott

Ahead of this weekend’s Bank of America Charlotte Roval 400, Chase Elliott accepted a major award on behalf of his uncle Ernie Elliott. The Smokey Yunick Award goes to someone who came from humble beginnings to make major contributions to NASCAR.

For those who don’t know, Ernie Elliott built engines for his younger brother Bill. Together they won many races and rose to prominence in not just their local tracks in Georgia, but NASCAR itself.

Ernie’s engines claimed 40 Cup Series wins, 51 poles, 291 top-10s, and 148 top-5s. Truly worthy of an honor such as the Smokey Yunick Award.

Here is Chase Elliott accepting the award on behalf of his uncle, via Deb Williams of Autoweek. Elliott and the Cup Series will qualify later today for the Roval 400.

Ernie Elliott is this year’s recipient of the Smokey Yunick Award. @chaseelliott accepted it for his uncle. pic.twitter.com/zj0KvyIzJK

— Deb Williams (@DebWilliams72) October 7, 2023

Since the award was created in 1997, previous recipients of the Smokey Yunick Award include Cotton Owens, Banjo Matthews, Ralph Moody, Ray Evernham, Dale Inman Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Larry McReynolds and others.

Chase Elliott was there to accept the award. The entire Elliott family is integral to the history of NASCAR. So, it is a fitting award for Ernie Elliott, and for his nephew to be there in his place.

Chase Elliott looking for a big race at the Roval

If you are hoping to see Chase Elliott in victory lane this season, this weekend might be your best bet, folks. Elliott has two wins at the Roval, albeit from before the Next Gen era. However, that doesn’t mean you should count him out on the unique road course.

Qualifying will tell us a lot. If we see Elliott with a top-5 car early on in practice or in the qualifying sessions, it will lead me to believe he has a chance to win. His car just has not had a ton of speed and at times this postseason I believe he’s outdriven his car on a few occasions.

There are also times when Elliott and his crew chief Alan Gustafson make a tire strategy call and it pays off in a big way. My point is, that Elliott, with a car that has some speed, can go out and win this thing.

He’s the favorite at 6-1 ahead of the qualifying rounds. If that carries over, I’ll be surprised. Not only that, Elliott sits fourth in the Owner’s Championship standings. That’s a big deal.

Will Chase Elliott find his way to victory lane at Charlotte for the third Roval win in his career?