Hendrick Motorsports has elected to add a fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series event to its schedule for the 2023 season, announcing Wednesday that the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro would enter the July 22 event at Pocono Raceway.
Chase Elliott, 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will get behind the wheel of the HendrickCars.com-sponsored entry at the 2.5-mile triangle-shaped facility in Pocono, Pennsylvania.
The 27-year-old driver is currently on the hunt for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season, as he looks to lock himself into the post-season, after missing seven races in the first half of the season – six due to injury, one due to a suspension.
Elliott’s participation in the Explore The Pocono Mountains 225 will also mark the first Xfinity Series start for the Dawsonville, Georgia-native since he served as an interim driver for Michael Annett at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Road Course in 2021.
The Xfinity Series entry for Hendrick Motorsports has found success in the two events it has contested so far in 2023, finishing second at Circuit of The Americas with William Byron and third at Sonoma Raceway with Kyle Larson.
As previously announced, Alex Bowman will pilot the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro at Watkins Glen International, while Larson will return to the entry for a second time at Darlington Raceway.
In 82 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Elliott is a five-time winner, three of which came in his debut season with JR Motorsports, where he captured the championship with 16 top-five and 26 top-10 results in 33 races.
Elliott is also the defending winner of the NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway, scoring his fourth win on the season after the first and second-place entries of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch failed post-race inspection.
