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

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.

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.

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.