Chase Elliott, the most popular driver in NASCAR, wants to get back to something he believes is popular with fans: having more Saturday night races.
The fans Elliott has connected with want more races under the lights and prefer them on Saturdays instead of Sundays when so many have to head back to work.
Elliott was on the "Racin' With The Boys" podcast when host Taylor Lewan asked for one rule change Elliott would make in NASCAR if he could. Elliott did not dodge the question; he said it wasn't a rule and that he would favor more Saturday racing.
There are only three Saturday night races on the 2026 NASCAR Cup schedule − Aug. 15 (6 p.m. CT)
at Richmond Raceway, Aug. 29 (6:30 p.m.) at Daytona International Speedway, and Sept. 19 (6:30 p.m.) at Bristol Motor Speedway in the playoffs.
Chase Elliott says Saturday night NASCAR races have unique vibe
As far as Elliott is concerned, there is no comparison in terms of atmosphere between a Sunday night NASCAR Cup race and a Saturday night race.
The last three Cup races and five total in 2026 have been under the lights on Sundays.
"I think our fans and the people that watch NASCAR, we all miss that Saturday night energy and that vibe around races and I would love to have more of them," Elliott said. "We don't have a lot of them in general. We have some of these Sunday night races, which I think are just kind of awkward for people going back to work on Monday morning."
Elliott pointed to the rain delay on Sunday, July 12 at Atlanta that pushed the end of the race past 1 a.m. CT as being a problem.
"That makes it kind of tough (on fans)," he said. "The energy and the atmosphere that is extracted from our sport on a Saturday night race, especially on some of these short tracks, is pretty neat in my opinion in sports, and I would love to have more of them."
Chase Elliott is not a fan of 'Talladega Nights'
Elliott talking about Saturday night racing led into another question from Lewan about Elliott's opinion of the movie "Talladega Nights."
The 2006 comedy starred Will Ferrell as NASCAR fiction character Ricky Bobby, who was challenged by a French Formula 1 champion. Lewan asks most of the drivers who have been on the podcast about the movie, and many, like Elliott, gave it a two thumbs down.
"I'm not a fan," Elliott said. "This is not me saying I don't like to have a good time because I 100 percent do. Like Talladega, especially the infield and all of that, I've been there, I've done it, it's a blast. I just think there is a time and a place for that, and then there is also space in that to respect the craft of what we do. I kind of like to have a little bit of both, where I don't think 'Talladega Nights' is a very good representation of the driver's viewpoint of what we do behind the wheel."
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Chase Elliott wants more Saturday night NASCAR races
