9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 6th
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No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
ROAD COURSE REPORT: Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, is set to make his 16th NASCAR Cup Series start on a road course this weekend at Road America. He has garnered six wins (2018, 2019 –Watkins Glen; 2019, 2020 – Charlotte ROVAL; 2020 – the DAYTONA Road Course; 2021 – COTA), eight top-five finishes, 10 top-10s and a total of 302 laps led at road courses. In 2021 on road courses, Elliott has led the most laps of all drivers (62).
GOOD COMPANY: Elliott’s six road course wins tie him with NASCAR legends Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Richard Petty and Bobby Allison for the third-most all-time road course wins behind Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight).
NOTEWORTHY NUMBERS: Elliott’s wins account for six of the last 10 road course victories. He is the youngest driver to have six road course wins and he remains the youngest road course winner at 22 years, 8 months, 8 days. Elliott has led laps in the last eight road course races, the Cup Series’ longest active streak. The driver of the No. 9 also holds the best average finish (8.73) of active drivers and the fifth-best all-time average of drivers with at least five starts. Elliott has also garnered the most stage wins (six) of all time at road courses.
GUSTAFSON ON ROAD COURSES: Crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 38th road course race from atop the pit box this Sunday at Road America. In his previous 37 starts, the Florida native has garnered six wins, the most of active crew chiefs, 12 top-five finishes, 18 top-10s and 359 laps led.
ELLIOTT IN ELKHART LAKE: While Sunday will be Elliott’s first Cup start at Road America, he has already logged laps in two races at the 4.048-mile course in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In those starts at Road America, he earned two top-five finishes – both fourth-place results – led 23 laps and averaged a starting position of 7.0 and finishing position of 4.0.
MID-YEAR RUNDOWN: The Cup Series is officially past the halfway point of the 2021 season and Elliott has one win, eight top-five finishes (four of which are runner-up results), 10 top-10s and has led a total of 129 laps. He has also spent 1,613 laps inside the top five and 3,003 laps running in the top 10. Elliott currently sits sixth in the driver point standings, 128 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.
SPEEDY STOPS: Heading into Road America, the No. 9 team owns the second-best average time for four-tire pit stops at 13.7 seconds through 19 races. The NAPA pit crew is comprised of jackman T.J. Semke, gasman John Gianninoto, tire carrier Jared Erspamer and tire changers Chad Avrit and Nick O’Dell.
NAPA KNOW HOW: The No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will don the familiar blue, white and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme this weekend at Road America. The Atlanta-based company is serving as majority sponsor for Elliott and the No. 9 team for 25 NASCAR Cup Series races this season.
STAYING OUT FRONT: Through the last seven races, Hendrick Motorsports has six points-paying wins, five runner-up placements and has finished 1-2 in four of those races. Across all four teams, the drivers have totaled 17 top-five finishes, 21 top-10s, nine stage wins of the 15 completed and led a combined 1,203 of the 1,516 laps raced, or 79%.
CROWN THE KINGS: Hendrick Motorsports continues to show its road course strength, taking home wins in six of the last seven road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series. The four drivers have worked to score nine stage wins and have led 436 laps across the last seven road course events, starting with Chase Elliott’s win at Watkins Glen in August 2019 and stretching to its most recent win at Sonoma in June. Elliott currently leads all active drivers with the most road course wins (six).
SEVEN TIMES THE FUN: Hendrick Motorsports’ 22 road course victories have come at the hands of seven different drivers, the most of any team in Cup Series history. Jeff Gordon (nine), Elliott (six), Tim Richmond (three), Geoff Bodine (one), Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, and Ricky Rudd all have brought home victories from the twisting venues.
NOT DONE YET: Through the first 19 races in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports already has nine wins, the second-most victories at this point in the year in organization history. The four teammates now will try to earn double-digit wins for the first time since 2014 when the organization took home 13 total wins. That season, Hendrick Motorsports drivers Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson each had four wins and Kasey Kahne had one.
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: Hendrick Motorsports’ pit crews are performing at the top of their game, with three teams currently holding the fastest average four-tire pit stop times. The No. 5 team leads the Cup Series field with an average pit stop time of 13.61 seconds, followed by the No. 9 team with an average time of 13.70 seconds. The No. 48 team clocks in third with an average four-tire pit stop time of 13.71 seconds. The No. 24 crew rounds out the Hendrick Motorsports stable with an average time of 14.0 seconds.
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to Road America: “I’ve raced up at Road America a couple times in the Xfinity Series and I always really enjoyed going there. It’s a cool racetrack. There are a lot of race fans up there – a lot of people that enjoyed having us racing there. I’ve always felt very welcome and I don’t anticipate this weekend being any different. I am looking forward to getting back up there.”
Elliott on if preparations at Hendrick Motorsports have changed with the success this season: “I don’t think our prep has changed, but it’s a good thing, right? We would much rather be on this side of the fence than the other. I don’t really feel like any of us that are involved are any different people, or any better people or worse than we were last year or the year before. Those of us that have been around for a few years. Obviously, the car has changed, but how we prepare for races, how I prepare for races – you are either prepared for a race or you’re not at the end of the day. You either have the knowledge and understand what you’re looking for or you don’t. I haven’t really changed that approach since my rookie year and I feel like when things are going good and we are clicking and things are working well we can perform at a high level. I don’t see any need in us changing what we do too much.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
