Perhaps unreasonably, immediate pressure for success was placed upon young Chase Elliott's shoulders the very first time the son of 1988 NASCAR Cup champion Bill strapped himself into a full-time Cup ride with Hendrick Motorsports in 2016.
With 'Awesome Bill from Dawsonville' being voted the most popular driver in the Cup Series a record 16 times, picking up 44 wins across a career that spanned nearly four decades, the expectation was that the next generation of Elliott would pick up where his father left off and immediately start producing strong results.
Five years on, 24-year-old Elliott truly delivered on that expectation in the pandemic-affected 2020 season by taking his maiden Cup title at Phoenix, following in the footsteps of Richard Petty and Dale Jarrett in becoming the third son-of to emulate his father. But the 2014 Xfinity Series champion has had to be patient for his crowning moment at the top level of stock car racing.