9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 7th
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No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
100 CLUB: With a second-place finish Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, Chase Elliott collected his 100th NASCAR Cup Series top-10 finish in his 193rd career race. Among all active drivers, it took the driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE the fewest number of starts to reach 100 top-10s.
SHORT-TRACK PERFORMANCE: On Sunday at Richmond Raceway, Elliott will make his 34th short-track start in the Cup Series. In those previous 33 races, he has garnered 11 top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and led 775 laps. Elliott currently has six consecutive top-10 finishes on short tracks – the longest active streak of all Cup Series drivers.
RICHMOND RUNDOWN: This Sunday, Elliott will make his 11th Richmond start in the NASCAR Cup Series. In his previous 10 races at the .75-mile oval, he has collected three top-five finishes – one being a runner-up result – and four top-10s. Richmond is one of five tracks where Elliott has captured a runner-up finish but has yet to collect a victory. Additionally, he has made four Richmond starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, never finishing outside the top five and earning a win in 2015.
2021 SHORT TRACKS: The NASCAR Cup Series has competed on two short tracks in 2021: the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race and Martinsville Speedway. Elliott is one of five drivers who garnered top-10 results at both events – a second-place finish at Martinsville and 10th-place performance at Bristol.
THIS SEASON: Eight races into the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Elliott’s three top-five finishes are third-most among all drivers. He has posted two runner-up results and led a total of 73 laps in those first eight events. The 25-year-old driver has spent 558 laps inside the top five and 1,311 laps running in the top 10.
GUSTAFSON AT RICHMOND: On Sunday, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson is set to call his 31st Richmond race in the NASCAR Cup Series race. In his previous 30 starts at the track with five different drivers (Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Elliott), Gustafson has accumulated 13 top-five finishes including five runner-up results, 17 top-10s and 566 laps led. His five second-place finishes are tied with Kirk Shelmerdine. The only crew chief with more at the .75-mile oval is NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Inman, who has 10.
NAPA KNOW HOW: The No. 9 Chevrolet will showcase the blue, white and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme this weekend at Richmond. The Atlanta-based company is serving as majority sponsor for Elliott and the No. 9 team for 25 NASCAR Cup Series races this season.
TOP-FIVE VIBE: In Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports placed three cars inside the top five with Chase Elliott second, William Byron fourth and Kyle Larson fifth. It was the record-extending 36th time the team has accounted for at least three of the top-five finishers in the same event.
TOP-10 TREND: Hendrick Motorsports has placed at least two of its Chevrolets inside the top 10 in seven of the eight points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races held in 2021 – the most of any team. The organization has 19 top-10 finishes this season.
NO SHORTAGE: No active NASCAR Cup Series team has more short-track victories than Hendrick Motorsports. Going into Sunday’s event at Richmond Raceway, the organization has 51 short-track wins – nine more than next-best Joe Gibbs Racing. Ten different drivers have won on a short track for car owner Rick Hendrick, which is one shy of the all-time record of 11 held by Junior Johnson and Associates.
TRACK FACT: Hendrick Motorsports has won a combined 64 races at the next five tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule: Richmond (10), Talladega (13), Kansas (seven), Darlington (14) and Dover (20).
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on Richmond: “I don’t feel like Richmond is a very good track for us. It seemed like the last time we were there we were a little more solid than we have been. But like I said, it’s been a really tough track for me. It’s so hard to be great at that track. It’s really difficult to be different there because everyone is running the same line. Everyone knows how to drive the car to get around there properly. I think that’s why it’s produced good races over the years because it’s so hard to be different than the next guy and to be better. I say that and people are like, ‘Eh it’s not boring’ but just from a driver’s perspective, there’s just not a lot to it and you have to be perfect from a setup perspective and behind the wheel to be really good there.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on heading to Richmond: “Positive energy is a good thing. When things are going your way it gives you a lot of confidence, you are much more decisive and you don’t question a lot of things. That certainly factors in. I don’t think us running well at Martinsville has a whole lot of impact on Richmond besides when you are running well and things seem to be going your way, you have the confidence to be very decisive. When you are not running well and things aren’t going your way, you basically question everything and that slows you down. I do think that impacts performance and just having that momentum. And then everyone is happy; when you run well everybody is in a good mood. Life is a lot easier running well.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
