Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Chase Elliott owns 3.5 average finish in four Michigan starts

Chase Elliott is 15/1 to win at Michigan Sunday.
Chase Elliott on racing at Michigan:
“Michigan has been a good track for me and my team. I don’t really know why, but I think a lot of that has been really circumstantial with our performance at that point in time. I am looking forward to getting back and hopefully giving it a good run.”

Elliott on tying his father, Bill Elliott, for eight runner-up finishes before his first win:
“Dad ran second eight times and I am at eight currently. I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing. It has definitely been an up-and-down road to get to this point. We’ve had a lot of great opportunities and you wish you could have some of them back, but you can’t, so you just move on down the road. We just try to learn from each situation as time goes and I’ve definitely chosen the hard road to a victory for sure. I feel like in some cases it makes you better at the end of the day. Whenever the time comes when we are back and on top, those harder times and tough losses will make you better when you are in position to capitalize on some really good things.”

MOUNTAIN DEW / LITTLE CAESARS CHEVROLET: The No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will get a fresh orange, white and black look for this weekend’s race at Michigan International Speedway. Chase Elliott took to Facebook last week to help unveil the new Mountain Dew/Little Caesars paint scheme.

MICHIGAN STATS: Michigan ranks as Elliott’s second-best track based on his average finish of 3.5. He has finished inside the top 10 in all four career NASCAR Cup Series starts at the two-mile oval, giving him the series' longest active streak of starts prior to a finish outside the top 10 at Michigan. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has collected three top-five finishes – all of which were runner-up results – at the track. Elliott also averages a starting position of 7.5 at the venue.

RUNNER-UP FINISHES: Elliott is in good company as one of four drivers with the most runner-up finishes at Michigan prior to their first win at the track. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon also earned three second-place results before capturing his first win at the two-mile speedway (1998), and both Martin Truex Jr. and NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte have three runner-up results without a win at Michigan.

'TRICKY TRIANGLE' REWIND:
The No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS team raced inside the top 10 for much of the day last weekend at Pocono Raceway, collecting valuable stage points and a top-10 result. The finish moves Elliott to 13th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings.

RETURNING TO MICHIGAN: Last month, Elliott visited Selfridge Air National Guard Base to promote the upcoming race at Michigan and the speedway’s 50th anniversary. The driver of the No. 9 spent the day touring the base, visiting with military members and talking to media. For a behind-the-scenes look at Elliott’s day, click here.
 

2018 Season

  • 13th in standings
  • 14 starts
  • 0 wins
  • 0 pole positions
  • 3 top-five finishes
  • 6 top-10 finishes
  • 8 laps led
 
 

Career

  • 91 starts
  • 0 wins
  • 3 pole positions
  • 25 top-five finishes
  • 44 top-10 finishes
  • 926 laps led
 
 

Track Career 

  • 4 starts
  • 0 wins
  • 0 pole positions
  • 3 top-five finishes
  • 4 top-10 finishes
  • 66 laps led
 

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