Elliott To Celebrate Napa's 100th Anniversary With Gold Car. Credits Company For His Nascar Career

Chase Elliott, son of a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the sport's most popular driver, has 19 career Cup Series wins and championship titles in both the Cup and Xfinity Series.

But if not for one critical partnership, Elliott is convinced he may not have ever made it as a professional racer.

That pairing is with sponsor NAPA Auto Parts, which this Sunday will celebrate its 100th year as a company with gold cars at Texas Motor Speedway to commemorate its anniversary. NAPA joined Elliott in 2014 when he raced in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports and has been his primary sponsor ever since.

NAPA was his primary sponsor in the races where he clinched his Xfinity and Cup championships, and for all but six of his Cup Series wins. If not for the company taking a chance on the then-18-year-old son of Bill Elliott, he's not sure what path his career might have taken.

"NAPA has defined my entire career, I've said it a lot," Elliott told The Associated Press. "I've tried to express my appreciation for them, but if they don't come on board, I don't think 2014 happens. You're essentially looking at the Xfinity championship never happening. We were going to run a handful of races had NAPA not signed on. We were talking about a part-time season and going full-time wasn't going to be possible without that money, without that deal coming. So, yeah, it was more than a little career defining."