9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 28 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 9th
No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
SEASON UPDATE: Through four races in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, Chase Elliott has consistently remained inside the top 10 in the points standings. The six-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver Award winner sits ninth in points, just 28 markers behind the leader. Elliott and the No. 9 team have the sixth-best average running position this season (12.52) and the eighth-best average finish (15.00). They are also one of only four teams – along with Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron – to finish all four races on the lead lap.
LAST YEAR’S BATTLE: In the Cup Series’ most recent visit to Bristol Motor Speedway last September, Elliott qualified seventh and held the eighth-best average running position (10.34) in the field throughout the 500-lap race. The 28-year-old driver finished 10th in stage two before taking the checkered flag in seventh to score his seventh top-10 result at the track.
BRISTOL DEETS: Elliott will make his 14th Bristol Cup Series start on the track’s concrete surface. The 2020 premier series champion has four top-five finishes, seven top-10s and 439 laps led at “The Last Great Colosseum” – his third-most at active tracks on the Cup Series circuit, behind Martinsville Speedway (1,040) and Phoenix Raceway (546). Elliott has finished inside the top seven in four of the last six races on concrete at the 0.533-mile track, with a best effort of second coming in the fall of 2022. He also has an active streak of two consecutive top-10 finishes there, tied with two other drivers for the fourth most. In addition, Elliott has three stage wins at Bristol – tied with his teammate Kyle Larson and two others for the most among active drivers.
NO POINTS ABOUT IT: While Elliott has yet to win a points-paying race at Bristol, he and the No. 9 team captured the All-Star Race victory at this venue in 2020. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native won stages two and three before crossing the finish line first in the final stage to earn the $1 million prize. The event was the only All-Star Race held at this short track and on a Wednesday. Elliott was the third-youngest all-star winner at 24 years, five months and 17 days.
SHORT TRACK STATE OF MIND: The Bristol race marks Elliott’s 46th short-track start in the Cup Series. In his previous 45 races, he garnered one win (Martinsville in November of 2020), 14 top-five finishes, 23 top-10s, two poles and 1,574 laps led. In the Next Gen era (since 2022) on short tracks, he has the fourth-best average finish (9.78) and has scored the seventh-most points (311). Across the last eight short-track races, Elliott has six finishes inside the top 10.
AG IN TENNESSEE: Crew chief Alan Gustafson is set to call his 35th Bristol Cup Series race on Sunday. In his previous 34 starts with five different drivers – Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Mark Martin, team vice chairman Jeff Gordon and Elliott – the Ormond Beach, Florida, native has one win (2007 with Busch), 10 top-five finishes, 18 top-10s and 1,039 laps led. In addition, he and Elliott captured the All-Star Race victory when it was held there in 2020, leading 60 of 140 laps.
FOUR TIRES FAST: Last weekend at Phoenix, the No. 9 pit crew was a force to be reckoned with. With an average four-tire stop of 10.318 seconds, the No. 9 crew ranked third on pit road in that statistical category at the 1-mile track. They gained six spots on pit road, which was tied for the third-most in the race with their teammates on the No. 48 pit crew. The five-person team is comprised of Chad Avrit (rear-tire changer), Jared Erspamer (tire carrier), John Gianninoto (fueler), Nick O’Dell (front-tire changer) and T.J. Semke (jackman).
GET UP AND GO: This weekend at Bristol, the blue and yellow colors of NAPA Auto Parts return to the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. This marks the seventh Cup Series race the Atlanta-based company has served as the primary partner for the 2020 Cup Series championship-winning team on the concrete oval.
FABULOUS 40: In 2024, Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Among the categories that the Rick Hendrick-owned organization holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for are all-time wins (303), poles (246) and championships (14). With William Byron’s victory in the 2024 DAYTONA 500, the organization has won at least one race in the last 39 seasons. Kyle Larson’s win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway marks the 37th season that the team has scored at least two victories and it is the record 31st consecutive season that the team has won at least two times.
LEADERS IN THE FIELD: Entering Sunday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports is three laps led away from 80,000 circuits out front in the sport’s top series. To date, the organization’s 79,997 laps led equals a distance of 105,321 miles. The team’s first laps led by Geoff Bodine took place in the same race he went on to win at Martinsville Speedway on April 29, 1984. Across 35 different tracks, 29 drivers have led laps in team history with vice chairman Jeff Gordon atop the board at 24,936 laps led. Click here for a look at laps led and wins by track, year and driver.
EDGE OF SEVENTEEN: The organization’s second of 10 Xfinity races will take place next weekend at Circuit of The Americas. Larson will drive the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro and 2014 Xfinity Series champion crew chief Greg Ives will be atop the pit box. In its history, Hendrick Motorsports has 26 victories in the series and won the 2003 championship.
NO SHORTAGE: Hendrick Motorsports leads all active Cup Series teams with 57 points-paying victories on short tracks. Gordon’s 17 short-track wins lead all drivers in team history. The active driver lineup has combined for seven short-track successes: Larson (three), Alex Bowman (two), Byron (one) and Chase Elliott (one).
COLOSSEUM CLOSERS: The organization has 12 wins at “The Last Great Colosseum.” Gordon (five wins) and Jimmie Johnson (two wins) are the only drivers in team history to win multiple times at the venue. Larson, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Terry Labonte and Darrell Waltrip each have one triumph for the team.
PREVIOUSLY AT BRISTOL: The last time the Cup Series visited the concrete layout of Bristol was in September of 2023. After starting last, Larson led 20 laps en route to a runner-up finish, while Elliott (seventh) and Byron (ninth) each earned top-10 results. All four of the team’s drivers were in the top nine in average running position for the race: Byron (fifth at 7.33), Larson (seventh at 8.27), Elliott (eighth at 10.34) and Bowman (ninth at 11.23).
THREE TIMES TWO: On seven occasions, a team has placed three of its drivers in the top five at Bristol. Hendrick Motorsports has achieved this twice at the track located on the Tennessee and Virginia border. The first came in September of 2021, with Larson winning, Byron finishing third and Bowman taking fifth. The second time occurred in September of 2022 when Elliott was the runner-up finisher, Byron took third again and Larson was fifth.
STREAKING THROUGH THE VALLEY: Larson and Byron are tied with one other competitor for the longest top-10 streak at Bristol with three. Elliott is tied with two others for the fourth-most consecutive top 10s at the 0.533-mile track with two.
NEXT GEN NUMBERS: The Rick Hendrick-owned team is tied for the Cup Series lead with victories on short tracks since the Next Gen car debuted in 2022. Last season, Larson won the spring races at Richmond Raceway and Martinsville. Byron triumphed at Martinsville in the spring of 2022. Larson is one of three drivers with multiple short-track wins in the Next Gen car. In the two races on the concrete Bristol layout in this generation of vehicle, Larson has scored the second-most points (86), Byron has the fourth-most markers (78) and Elliott has the sixth-most (73).
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on Bristol’s unique environment: “I enjoy going to Bristol (Motor Speedway) just as much today as I did 10 years ago. The racetrack is a lot of fun and it is something super different from the norm. I think the energy level that the stadium environment kind of brings to our world is just not something we see every week. I think for that reason alone, it makes it unique.”
Elliott, on the impact that attending races at Bristol had on him in his childhood: “When I was a kid, Bristol (Motor Speedway) was one of the main reasons I wanted to be a race car driver. That environment was unbelievable. I remember being a kid, going up there, watching the races and they had tickets sold out for like seven years. You couldn’t get a ticket. It was that big of a deal. I mean that’s as good as it gets.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the team’s performance so far in 2024: “We’ve been competitive in each race. We’ve had opportunities. Atlanta (Motor Speedway) would be the one place that, you know, crashing on lap two certainly changed the complexion of that race. Even with that, we were able to compete and generate some opportunities. I feel like at Vegas and at Phoenix (Raceway) the same thing holds true. I hate that we haven’t capitalized on the running position or the speed of our Chevrolets, but I think there’s been some really positive things. Speed in the cars is one and the pit crew’s been really good. The team’s working well. I really like the effort, the positivity and the vibe the team has. So, you just have to trust the process. If you keep focusing on improving, the results will come.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
