Living my life in the Fast Lane (Chase Elliott)

Chapter 18: Meet the Parents

After we walked around the museum for a little while we had decided to go ahead and leave since we had pretty much seen everything there was to see. Chase and I walked back to his truck and he helped me in before climbing in on the driver's side. He looked at the the clock on the dash of his truck and then looked at me and asked if it would be okay if we stop by his house so he could pack up his suitcase of what he would need for the upcoming weekend. Since I didn't have to go back to work for the day and didn't have a specific time of getting back to Charlotte I told Chase that it was totally fine with me. We talked about our social media accounts and I told him that I had 2 accounts just for my instagram. He then asked me why I had 2 accounts which I then told them one was my professional account and the other one was my "burner" account. I explained that my job and work photos would be on my professional page, but my fun pictures of me and different friends and personal pictures were on my other account. 

I noticed we had pulled up to this long driveway that had privacy fences and a large wrought iron gates. Chase then rolled down his window so he could lean out and punch in the passcode before we were let through the gates. He went ahead and gave me a warning that his parents might be home, but I didn't need to worry about them asking a million questions. I told Chase that it was completely fine with meeting his parents if they were home because he had already told me so many cool stories about them anyways. We finally finished driving down their very long driveway where you could see the decent sized house that he was raised in/ still lives in. The house looked to be 2 stories and was a modern Tudor style home that had 5 garages. We pulled into the garage and parked, before I could even get the chance to open my door it was already open and Chase was standing there with his hand out waiting to help me get out of his truck. 

We walked into his house and as we were walking towards the kitchen we heard his parents call out to see if he had got back home from his interview. He said yes he was back home and that he had a special friend with him too. Of course this had his parents intrigued to see just who this special friend was of his that he had brought into their home. We came into the kitchen where his parents were and I slowly came out from behind Chase so they could see me. Chase introduced me to his parents Bill and Cindy Elliott. 

{Conversation with Chase's parents} 

Chase: Mom and Dad this is my friend Julia Winters We worked on an episode of Glass Case together and then she was also the one that interviewed me today for NASCAR. 

Chase's Parents: Nice to meet you Julia. We are Chase's parents obviously. I'm Bill and this is my wife Cindy Elliott. Where are you from?

Julia: It is so nice to meet y'all also. I am from Marietta, Georgia! 

Bill & Cindy: Oh how lovely you are a Georgia girl and right up the road from us. Chase had mentioned to us once before that y'all had worked together before and that you also cheer for the Dawgs that we like. 

Julia: I am a Georgia girl for sure. Yes I went to UGA and graduated with my degree in Journalism and a minor in Mass Communications. I actually work for Charlotte Motor Speedway, but I just got a second little job working as a permanent fill-in for the Glass Case of Emotion podcast that Ryan Blaney does.

Bill & Cindy: That is so nice. We love coming down there to Athens to watch some Georgia football. It sounds like you are a busy woman juggling those jobs. How did you get to be the one to get to interview Chase earlier today? 

Julia: I love watching some Georgia football also between the hedges at Sanford. It's actually not as bad as you would think I truly have one of the best bosses at the Speedway. I got to be thr one to interview Chase today because ever since our podcast/podcast video came out and that I had a job with them, the media has been dying to have me come and do different interviews for them. So I was offered the spot from NASACR themselves for me to come and do this hometown interview today. They even paid all of my expenses for this trip. 

Bill & Cindy: NASCAR really is a great organization. Well we won't ask you anymore questions since we know you and Chase got to go soon. It was so nice to meet you and please feel free to come back soon. Maybe we will see you at the track soon. 

Julia: Aww thank y'all so much. It was a pleasure getting to meet y'all. Hopefully we will run into each other at the Speedway soon. 

{End of Conversation with the Elliott's}

Chase then showed me a quick tour of the rest of his house before we made our way up the flight of stairs to where his bedroom was. We walked into his bedroom and he told me to make myself at home while he began packing his suitcase. I walked around his room looking at the different pictures that he had on his desk and on the top of his dresser before I ended up sitting on his bed to watch him. I told him that his parents were so sweet and nice that I bet that's where he gets it from. I had looked up at him to see that he was blushing when I had said that, but he quickly turned so I couldn't see his pink cheeks and walked into his closet. He came back out with an Atlanta Braves shirt and a few of his collared shirts with his sponsors on it; he packed them into his suitcase and then placed in some boat shoes, jeans, and shorts before he zipped it up. He was showing me the different pictures that were around his room that I had been looking at and was telling me about how much those pictures mean to him. There were some of him and his parents, him and his dog, a baby picture of him and Dale Sr, him and his siblings, and when he won the Cup Championship. 

We then slowly started making our way back downstairs to tell his parents bye. As we were coming back down the steps we heard this dog start to get so excited because he heard Chase yell to his parents to see if they were still in the kitchen where we had left them. Nope they had since moved into thr living room and the cutest dog came running full fledge straight at both Chase and I. The dog was a Boxer that they had named Dooley. They told me that he usually doesn't like anybody new coming into the house, but he seems to love me and wanted all of my attention. Chase and I played with Dooley for a few more minutes before we started saying our goodbyes to his parents. After our goodbyes we stopped back through the kitchen to get drinks before we got back on the road. Chase asked me what I wanted to drink and I told him that the blue Mountain Dew was fine and one of my favorites of theirs, he grabbed one too for himself then we headed out to the garage where his truck was. We began to make our way to the airport to head back to the airport.