9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 28 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 4th
No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Patriotic Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media in the Charlotte Motor Speedway media center on Friday, May 24, at 2:45 p.m. local time.
KEEP IT ROLLING: Chase Elliott has been impressive this season. After 13 NASCAR Cup Series races in 2024, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native sits fourth in the standings, just 49 points behind the leader, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson. Elliott has secured one win (Texas Motor Speedway), and his five top-five finishes are in a three-way tie for second in the Cup field. His average finish of 9.85 is the best in the series and ranks as his best average finish through 13 races since 2019 (9.62). Additionally, Elliott ranks sixth in laps run in the top five (959), fourth in laps run in the top 10 (2,009) and fourth in average running position (11.71). The driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is the only driver to finish inside the top 20 in all 13 events and has completed all but one lap of competition in 2024, tied for best.
BIG 3-0-0: At just 28 years old, Elliott will make his 300th career Cup Series start Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 2020 NASCAR Cup champion is in his ninth full-time season in the premier series, with 19 points-paying wins, 98 top-five finishes, 158 top-10s, and one All-Star Race victory.
QUEEN CITY PERFORMANCE: Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 will mark Elliott’s 13th start in a points-paying Cup event at Charlotte. In his previous 12 races at the 1.5-mile track, the six-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver Award winner has five top-five finishes, six top-10s and 338 laps led. Elliott has three second-place results at the track – including two runner-ups in the Coca-Cola 600 – and a victory in the 208-lap Thursday night premier series event in 2020. The Hendrick Motorsports driver holds the longest active streak of oval races led at Charlotte, having paced the field in each of the last six events. He led 223 laps across those races, third-most in the series.
1.5-MILE PERFORMANCE: In three premier series starts on 1.5-mile tracks this season, Elliott has one win (Texas), two top-five finishes and two top-10s. His average finish of 5.33 across those starts is best among series regulars, and he’s tied for the third-most points earned (110). Elliott has 81 career Cup Series starts on mile-and-a-half tracks, with three victories (Kansas Speedway 2018, Charlotte 2020 and Texas 2024), 24 top-five finishes and 40 top-10s. He’s paced the field for over 1,000 laps on 1.5-milers in his Cup career.
NEXT GEN NUMBERS: Since the introduction of the Next Gen car in 2022, Elliott has earned six wins, placing him in a three-way tie for the fourth-most victories. In that span, he holds the best average finish (12.26).
FAST FIVE: Last month at Texas, the No. 9 pit crew laid down the fastest four-tire pit stop (9.076 seconds) of any team in the 2024 season. The over-the-wall squad has remained the same since 2018 and currently holds the fastest average four-tire pit stop time (10.643 seconds) this season. The 2021 Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew award-winning group 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).
DOUBLE DUTY: Before Elliott takes the green flag for the Coca-Cola 600, he will strap into the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte. It will mark his first of two starts this season for the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports team (with Darlington Raceway on Aug. 31), which will reunite Elliott with his former Xfinity Series crew chief Greg Ives. The duo won the series championship in 2014 during Elliott’s rookie season. In five Xfinity Series starts at Charlotte, Elliott has three top-10 finishes.
A HERO REMEMBERED: In Sunday’s Memorial Day weekend race at Charlotte, the windshield of Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will don the name of U.S. Army Technician 5th Grade Clifford Strickland, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II. Strickland entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Colorado and was a member of the 803rd Engineers Battalion, Philippine Department, tasked with defending the Philippine Islands and training the Philippine Army. He was captured following the American surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, and forced on the Bataan Death March. He was interned in the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province, where he died July 29, 1942. Strickland’s remains were accounted for Dec. 20, 2023, and will be laid to rest in Colorado in June.
SALUTE TO OUR FALLEN: NAPA Auto Parts will trade out its classic blue, yellow and white scheme for a grayscale digital camouflage livery on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the Memorial Day weekend race.
1,100 MILES: For the first time in his NASCAR Hall of Fame career, Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick will be a car owner for the Indianapolis 500, doing so with the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet driven by Kyle Larson. The entry, fielded through a unique partnership with the Arrow McLaren INDYCAR Team, will see the 2021 Cup Series champion become the fifth driver to attempt “The Double” by racing the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
HENDRICK HOMECOMING: On Friday and Saturday, Hendrick Motorsports will hold “Hendrick Homecoming” to celebrate the team’s 40th anniversary in NASCAR. The free fan event, which takes place over the same weekend as the Coca-Cola 600 at nearby Charlotte Motor Speedway, will feature appearances by past and present drivers, along with games, displays, giveaways and more. For information on the two-day event, click here.
FABULOUS 40: In 2024, Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The organization holds the all-time NASCAR Cup Series records in every major statistical category, including championships (14), points-paying race wins (307), pole positions (250) and laps led (80,730).
WINNING TRIO: Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron (three wins), Larson (two) and Chase Elliott (one) have tallied six Cup Series victories through the first 13 points-paying events of 2024. Based in Concord, North Carolina, the organization has won at least six races in 19 of the last 24 seasons. Six victories matches the team’s second-best total (1996 and 1997) at this point in a season. Hendrick Motorsports’ best start came in 2007 when it recorded nine wins in the first 13 races.
PIT POWER: Hendrick Motorsports holds four of the top-five spots for the fastest average four-tire pit stop in 2024. The No. 9 team leads the way (10.643 seconds), with the No. 24 team in third (10.849 seconds), the No. 48 team in fourth (10.958 seconds) and the No. 5 team rounding out the top five (10.966 seconds).
MILE-AND-A-HALF MOJO: In this season’s three races on 1.5-mile intermediate tracks, Hendrick Motorsports has been victorious every time. Larson won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and Kansas Speedway in May. Elliott went to victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Across the three events, Hendrick Motorsports tops the board for all teams in laps led (378) and stage wins (four).
NEXT GEN NUMBERS: Hendrick Motorsports’ eight wins on 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen car is more than double the total of any other Cup Series team (three wins). Since 2022, Larson has a series-best four wins on 1.5-mile tracks and Byron two, making them two of the four drivers with multiple wins on intermediates. Teammates Alex Bowman and Elliott have each earned one Next Gen triumph on this type of track. Over the last 12 races on 1.5-milers, Larson and Byron are the only repeat winners.
BLACKJACK: Hendrick Motorsports has 21 wins at the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval, tied for the third-most Cup Series victories at any track by an organization. The team also holds the top-two spots on the list with its win totals at Martinsville Speedway (29) and Dover Motor Speedway (22).
DEEP SIX: Six drivers have combined for Hendrick Motorsports’ record 12 wins in the Coca-Cola 600. Jimmie Johnson’s four wins (2003, 2004, 2005 and 2014) are part of his track-best eight wins on the oval. Next on the list is Jeff Gordon, now the team’s vice chairman, with three victories (1994, 1997 and 1998). Darrell Waltrip was the first Hendrick Motorsports driver to win the prestigious event, which he did back-to-back in 1988 and 1989. Casey Mears (2007), Kasey Kahne (2012) and most recently Larson (2021) each have one win.
HISTORICAL HIGHS: In the 2021 edition of the Coca-Cola 600, Hendrick Motorsports earned its 269th Cup Series win, passing Petty Enterprises to become the all-time winningest team in the sport’s top series. Hendrick Motorsports finished first, second, fourth and fifth that night, marking the first time a single organization placed four drivers in the top five in the Memorial Day weekend event.
600 MILES OF REMEMBRANCE: The Memorial Day weekend race at Charlotte Motor Speedway remembers the men and women who gave their lives in service while defending the United States of America. The name of a fallen service member will appear on the windshield of every Cup Series car in the Coca-Cola 600 field.
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his approach to the Coca-Cola 600: “Hopefully we can have a good run this year and have pace. But more than anything, I would like to just finish one of these things (the Coca-Cola 600) and get to the end. It is such a long race and a lot can happen in 600 miles. I’ve been a part of some (600s) where they’re really wild and crazy, and I’ve been a part of a couple where we’ve ran the whole thing almost green. I would just like to have a good, clean race and log a lot of laps and make it to the end.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing the Coca-Cola 600: “I think the biggest thing is just how long it is, and the extra stage points available are a big deal. The last two years we crashed out early and I think that probably put us on the back foot a little. So, focusing on getting qualified well and having a good car and being able to execute, stay up front and get as many stage points as possible is the key focus for us. It’s a long race and a race of attrition in a lot of ways. All those things make it difficult and hopefully, for us, we’ve learned from our recent experiences, which will help us navigate things on Sunday.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
