Dawsonville's Chase Elliott has a special place in his heart for Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"It's always been a special place to me. It's odd, I guess, to think about being part of this Sprint Cup weekend," he said.

Memories of track date back to his childhood watching his NASCAR champion dad, Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, dominate the series, and later as young Chase raced his way through the various series.

"My dad and I have done a lot of racing there on the front stretch, whether it be a Bandolero or Legends car," he said. "I can remember racing the Legends when the Cup cars were in town. I'm excited to be part of the show this year and hopefully put on a good one for the fans."

Following a disappointing Daytona 500 debut where he finished 37th from the pole due to an early race wreck, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at his home track Sunday.

He starts in the 25th position.

The 20-year-old will be driving the No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet SS with a legion of hometown, friends, family and fans in the stands cheering him to victory.

"It's my home track and is as close to home as I'm going to get on the NASCAR circuit, so I think that's special," he said. "For us and a lot of guys, Atlanta is like that Week 1 for our season because we're going to see racetracks like this more so as we go. I'm excited to get there."

Chase Elliott has made two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 1.54-mile track, finishing fifth both times.

Elliott embarks on his Sprint Cup Series career hoping to one day surpass the winningest Georgians in Sprint Cup history - his father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott (44 wins), Jack Smith (21) and Fonty Flock (15).

Five of Bill Elliott's 44 wins came at AMS.