9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 26 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 7th
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No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
PHOENIX STATS: This Sunday, Chase Elliott will make his 13th Phoenix Raceway start in the NASCAR Cup Series. In his previous 12 races at the track, he has amassed one win (November 2020), five top-five finishes and an impressive eight top-10s. His 496 laps led there rank as his second-most among active tracks on the circuit. In his four most recent starts at the 1-mile desert oval, Elliott has an average finish of 4.5, has led 340 laps and is tied for the most top-10s in that span with four.
WINNING MOMENT: Elliott’s 2020 Cup Series championship was secured after he drove his way to a victory at Phoenix in the season finale. Starting from the back of the pack, he drove to the front and led a race-high 153 laps en route to the win. It was Elliott’s first and only victory to date at the track and his first Cup Series title.
EARLY CONSISTENCY: Just three races into the 2022 season, Elliott and the No. 9 crew are one of only four Cups Series teams to score multiple top-10 finishes. He has proven to be a model of consistency, earning more than 20 top-10 finishes in four of the last five seasons.
GUSTAFSON AT PHOENIX: On Sunday, Alan Gustafson will call his 35th Phoenix race as a Cup Series crew chief. In his previous 34 starts there, he has collected four wins, 12 top-five results, 23 top-10s and 927 laps led. Gustafson’s four wins are tied with Chad Knaus for the second-most by a crew chief at Phoenix and came via four different drivers: Kyle Busch in 2005, Mark Martin in 2009, Jeff Gordon in 2011 and Elliott in 2020.
COMING HOME: On Sunday, No. 9 team fueler and Tucson, Arizona, native John Gianninoto will compete in front of his home-track crowd at Phoenix Raceway. Gianninoto graduated with honors from Catalina Foothills High School and went on to play as an offensive lineman for UNLV in 2006 – earning his first letter in 2007 and becoming a team captain in 2010. In 2012, he participated in the NFL’s Carolina Panthers training camp before signing with Hendrick Motorsports that September. Gianninoto set a Guinness World Record in 2018, teaming with Sunoco for the most vehicles refueled by an individual in one hour (148).
RETURN OF UNIFIRST: 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 of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. It will mark the third time UniFirst has adorned Elliott’s Chevrolet at Phoenix Raceway, including the two most recent spring events at the track. Earlier this year, Hendrick Motorsports and UniFirst announced a partnership extension, keeping UniFirst with the team through the 2028 season.
A SHOC ENERGY DAYTONA RACE EXPERIENCE: A SHOC Energy is giving fans the opportunity to win a VIP trip to the Cup Series race at Daytona on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. One grand prize winner and a guest will receive flight and hotel accommodations, tickets to the regular-season finale and a $500 Visa gift card. The sweepstakes is open now through July 15 and fans can enter by texting “ASHOCTRIP” to 97579.
$302K FOR UKRAINE: Hendrick Motorsports led 51 laps in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which added $102,000 in support to Ukraine relief and brought the total gift from the Hendrick organization to $302,000. To help bring awareness to the growing humanitarian crisis and to encourage donations, team owner Rick Hendrick and sponsor Hendrick Automotive Group committed $200,000 to Samaritan’s Purse to support disaster assistance. The organization also contributed $2,000 for each of the 51 laps led by the four-car Hendrick Motorsports stable at Las Vegas. Donations made via SamaritansPurse.org aid relief efforts in Ukraine, where Samaritan’s Purse has established an emergency field hospital and is providing other support.
22 OF 44: With Alex Bowman’s victory Sunday at Las Vegas, Hendrick Motorsports has won 22 of the last 44 points-paying Cup Series races dating back to 2020. It joined Joe Gibbs Racing (2018-2020) as the only teams in NASCAR’s modern era to post a winning percentage of 50% over a 44-race stretch. No organization has won 23 of 45 points races since Petty Enterprises accomplished it across the 1970 and 1971 seasons.
THE ONES AND TWOS: At Las Vegas, Hendrick Motorsports scored a 1-2 sweep with Bowman’s victory and Kyle Larson’s runner-up performance. It was the record-extending 51st time the team earned both first and second in the same points-paying race. Hendrick Motorsports has finished 1-2 in 23 different seasons, on 22 different tracks and in eight of the last 27 Cup events.
PHX RISING: Going into Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports is the track’s all-time leader in wins (12), pole positions (13), top-five finishes (52), top-10s (94) and laps led (3,105). Larson won the most recent race held there in November when he clinched Hendrick Motorsports’ record-extending 14th Cup Series championship.
GOING STRONG: Since the beginning of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports has won 19 points-paying races. During that period, all other teams combined have posted 20 victories.
WE’RE STREAKING: Hendrick Motorsports has led in each of the last 27 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races representing the seventh-longest streak in its history. The team holds the all-time record for the most consecutive Cup races led at 74, which occurred between 2007 and 2009. It also holds the series’ second-longest streak of 55 that happened from 1995 to 1997.
BEST IN THE WEST: On Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports notched its seventh victory at Las Vegas, and its record-extending 41st combined NASCAR Cup Series win on the West Coast. It has also won 12 times at Phoenix Raceway, 12 times at Auto Club Speedway, seven times at Sonoma Raceway and three times at the defunct Riverside International.
100K MILESTONE: Since Hendrick Motorsports was founded in 1984, it has led a record 98,650.97 miles in points-paying Cup Series races. The team is less than 1,350 miles from hitting 100,000 laps led at NASCAR’s top level.
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on returning to Phoenix after testing the track in January: “When we tested at Phoenix earlier this year, I felt like of all the tracks it was the most similar to how our old car felt when we were there. Obviously, testing is a little different than going out and racing, but I’m looking forward to getting back there and continuing the success we’ve had in the past.”
Elliott on UniFirst’s first race of 2022: “I’m excited to have UniFirst with us for another season. They’ve been a great partner and we’ve had many memorable moments together over the years, including an All-Star Race win. I really like their new scheme and I’m looking forward to carrying their green and white colors this weekend at Phoenix. Hopefully we can create another winning moment for them and end Sunday in victory lane.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
