Chase Elliott breaks silence on replacing his championship-winning spotter with his cousin Trey Poole  

Chase Elliott parted ways with his championship-winning spotter in the off-season.

Chase Elliott breaks silence on replacing his championship-winning spotter with his cousin Trey Poole  

Chase Elliott (Via IMAGO)

The 2023 NASCAR Cup season witnessed some major changes in the spotter market. 2020 NASCAR Cup champion Chase Elliott and the reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney parted ways with their long-term spotter during the off-season. Elliott has now explained why he decided to change the significant crew.

Eddie D’Hondt announced his exit from Elliott’s team via social media, and after a few weeks, it was announced that Trey Poole had signed with Hendrick Motorsports to replace him. Poole is the cousin of the 18-time Cup race winner and has previously worked as the second spotter for the driver in selected races.

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During the NASCAR 2024 season production day, Elliott detailed the decision to change the spotter. Elliott pointed out that 2023 was the right for them to make the change. He also acknowledged his former spotter’s contributions towards his success over the years and said they still have a very good personal relationship.

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It was a group effort. We just got to a point where we felt like if we were going to make a change, now was the right time to do it. And, look, Ed’s been a great teammate, I love Ed. We still have a good relationship even today. He’s been a huge part of our team for a long time. I don’t want that to get lost in translation. I think a lot of him, and he’s done a lot for me.
Elliott said via Fox Sports.

Chase Elliott details the qualities of Trey Poole

Elliott listed the characteristics of Poole as a spotter he really appreciates. He pointed out that Poole is straightforward, has an eye for the right things for the best performance, and is someone with less ego.

Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney
Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney (Via IMAGO)
Trey is a very straightforward individual. And I think he has his eyes set on the right things, and ultimately, just performance, low drama, not a lot of ego — all of those qualities I really enjoy in a spotter.

To avoid any confusion or misinterpretation of his quotes, he pointed out that Eddie D’Hondt shared similar characteristics, such as low drama and no ego. He pointed out that his old and new spotters are very similar.

Ed was also low drama and does not have an ego, too. So in a lot of ways, very similar to what we’ve had. But just enough of a change that we wanted to try and kind of see how it goes.

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