9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 8th
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No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
TEN-RACE MARK: With the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season at the 10-race mark, Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, has posted two runner-up results, four top-10 finishes and has led a total of 76 laps. He has spent 618 laps inside the top five and 1,421 laps running in the top 10.
KANSAS STATS: On Sunday, Elliott is set to make his 11th Kansas Speedway start at the NASCAR Cup Series level. In his previous 10 races at the track, he garnered one win, four top-five finishes, six top-10s and led 145 laps. He has finished inside the top 10 in four of the last five races at the 1.5-mile venue. Elliott also holds the third-best average finish (11.0) at Kansas, behind only Kevin Harvick (9.3) and Cole Custer (10.5).
LAST FIVE: In the last five events at Kansas, Elliott is tied for the most top-10 finishes (four) and averages the best finishing position of all drivers (5.0).
1.5-MILE STATS: This weekend, Elliott will make his 60th start on a 1.5-mile track in the NASCAR Cup Series. In his previous 59 races, Elliott has led 764 laps. Last season, he scored his second career 1.5-mile track win at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28. Along with two victories, Elliott has collected 18 top-five finishes – five of which are runner-up results – and 29 top-10s on 1.5-milers.
UNIFIRST IS BACK: This weekend, UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF), a North American leader in providing customized work uniform programs, corporate attire and facility service products, will serve as the primary sponsor on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. It will be the second of three races (Phoenix, Kansas and Daytona) that UniFirst will be the primary partner and have its newly revamped green corporate logo adorning the No. 9 Chevrolet. In 2016, Unifirst and Hendrick Motorsports announced an eight-year partnership. UniFirst will continue to serve as the Official Workwear Provider of Hendrick Motorsports, supplying work clothing and uniforms to the team and sister company Hendrick Automotive Group, the largest privately held retail automotive organization in the United States.
BACK HOME: No. 9 team jackman T.J. Semke hails from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, less than 40 miles from Kansas Speedway. Before stepping on the football field at the University of Kansas in 2012, Semke was a part-time bounty hunter. The 28-year-old was a defensive lineman for the Jayhawks for three years, earning Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honors twice. Semke signed with Hendrick Motorsports in October 2016.
KANSAS CHIEFS: Entering Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports owns the track records for wins (seven), runner-up finishes (six), top-fives (36) and top-10s (66). Its average finish of 13.14 is the best of all teams.
RECENT HISTORY: In three of the last four Cup Series races held at Kansas, Hendrick Motorsports has placed three cars inside the top-10 finishers. In fact, the organization has placed at least three cars in the top 10 there on 14 different occasions. No other team has done it more than six times.
WE’RE STREAKING: At least one of Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolet race cars has finished inside the top 10 in each of the last 28 NASCAR Cup Series events – the longest active streak. Team Penske is second with top-10 results in the last seven races.
CHECK THE RECORD: Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest NASCAR Cup Series team on 1.5-mile tracks. It holds the all-time record with 62 victories on intermediates – nine more than next-best Joe Gibbs Racing.
INTERMEDIATE MASTERS: Thirteen different Hendrick Motorsports drivers have recorded at least one Cup Series victory on a 1.5-mile track. The list is led by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson with 28 and four-time champ Jeff Gordon with 17. They are joined by Darrell Waltrip (three wins), Chase Elliott (two), Kasey Kahne (two), Terry Labonte (two), Ken Schrader (two), Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Mark Martin, Casey Mears and Jerry Nadeau.
AFTER 10: Three different Hendrick Motorsports drivers have gone to victory lane in the first 10 races of 2021, marking only the eighth time in NASCAR Cup Series history a team has done so. Hendrick Motorsports also accomplished it in 2007 and 2009, while Joe Gibbs Racing did it in 2016 and 2019. Other teams with three different winners in the first 10 events: Roush Fenway Racing in 2005, Peter DePaolo Racing in 1957 and Carl Kiekhafer Racing in 1956. The earliest in a single season a team has won with four different drivers is race No. 12 by Hendrick Motorsports in 2007 and JGR in 2016.
TWO TO TIE: Hendrick Motorsports entered the 2021 season within striking distance of one of stock car racing’s most enduring achievements: Petty Enterprises’ all-time team record for NASCAR Cup Series victories. The legendary Petty organization captured the wins record from Carl Kiekhafer Racing more than 60 years ago when Lee Petty took the checkered flag at Orange Speedway on May 29, 1960, for the team’s 53rd victory. Its 268th and final win was delivered by driver John Andretti on April 18, 1999. Hendrick Motorsports has earned 266 points-paying Cup Series wins since Rick Hendrick founded the team in 1984 and currently needs just three to break the record at NASCAR’s highest level.
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on Kansas: “We had a pretty good run at Kansas last fall, so we should have some notes that we can bring back this weekend. Kansas is a track, to me, that just feels different compared to other mile-and-a-half tracks. With the way the corners are shaped and with it being progressively banked, the top side is going to become dominant and, in my opinion, those tracks typically put on good shows.”
Elliott on varying tracks coming up on the schedule: “We are looking forward to all the tracks coming up – new and old. It doesn’t matter to me where we go, where we race or what style of racetrack. I always enjoy the challenge of everything that comes with it and trying to run well. I feel like that’s how our entire team approaches it. We are looking forward to all these places coming up, especially with the diversity of tracks over the next month or so. We expect there to be challenges. We’ve certainly had some this year, but we look forward to trying to improve on all those things and make ourselves better as we go along.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
