Dale Earnhardt Jr.: No plans to rush or slow down Chase Elliott’s development

By May 18, 2014, 7:27 PM EDT
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Chase Elliott will not be a one-and-done like Kyle Larson was when it comes to staying in the Nationwide Series.

So says Elliott’s boss, JR Motorsports team president and Sprint Cup star Dale Earnhardt Jr.

When asked if the 18-year-old Elliott, who just graduated from high school on Saturday, is on a fast track to jump to the Sprint Cup Series, or whether perhaps the development of the progeny of former NASCAR star Bill Elliott should be slowed down, Earnhardt demurred.

“I don’t think you do either one,” Earnhardt said in a Chevrolet media release. “I think you just set a plan from the start, and you stick with it.

“We have like a two-year plan I suppose, that he runs in the Nationwide Series and I think you just stick with the plan regardless of the success he is having. You have the commitments in line with sponsors and what have you, so I think it will suit him well to relax and not have to worry about that and just follow the plan that he has had in front of him from the start.”

Elliott, who already has two wins this season, finished fourth in Sunday’s Nationwide race at Iowa and continues to lead the NNS points: a two-point margin over Elliott Sadler and Regan Smith, who are tied for second place.

Larson, who is 21, spent just one full-time season in the NNS last season before making the jump this season to Sprint Cup. But Larson’s case is a bit different than Elliott’s in the sense team owner Chip Ganassi needed an immediate replacement for Juan Pablo Montoya, who returned to the IndyCar series after his seventh NASCAR season last year.

Elliott, on the other hand, can – and should – take his time developing,” Earnhardt said.

Plus, even though he is racing full-time for JR Motorsports, Elliott is considered a developmental driver for Hendrick Motorsports, which does not have any openings on its Cup roster heading into 2015.

“He is really young too, so he has a lot of time on his hands and time to get to Cup level to realize that potential one day,” Earnhardt said of Elliott. “But yes, I think he can just sit there and relax knowing what we tried to set out to do from the start and not really adjust.”

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IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
IndyCar video game 2024
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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”