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| Chase Elliott is 8/1 to win Sunday's Clash at Daytona. |
Driver: Chase Elliott
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Age: 22
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Chase Elliott on his goals for 2018:
“I think just the obvious – try to win a race. Starting year three, I think at this point I ought to know how to do that much at least and I think that I'm capable of doing it. We've had the speed and the ability to compete for wins – I think we've shown that on more than one occasion. Now, it’s just a matter of actually doing it. I know I sound like a broken record, but you just got to go do it. I know we're capable so now it’s just about making it happen.”
Elliott on the significance of the No. 9:
"It’s special to me just because of the history I've had with it. Obviously, I would have never chosen that number to start racing if it wasn't for my dad. I have a lot of history with it myself, with our championship in '14, all my short track races, were all in that number. There's a lot of time I've spent with the number, a lot of photos and races and things that I've run with it. It's just kind of home to me and always has been my favorite number.”
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Age: 22
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Chase Elliott on his goals for 2018:
“I think just the obvious – try to win a race. Starting year three, I think at this point I ought to know how to do that much at least and I think that I'm capable of doing it. We've had the speed and the ability to compete for wins – I think we've shown that on more than one occasion. Now, it’s just a matter of actually doing it. I know I sound like a broken record, but you just got to go do it. I know we're capable so now it’s just about making it happen.”
Elliott on the significance of the No. 9:
"It’s special to me just because of the history I've had with it. Obviously, I would have never chosen that number to start racing if it wasn't for my dad. I have a lot of history with it myself, with our championship in '14, all my short track races, were all in that number. There's a lot of time I've spent with the number, a lot of photos and races and things that I've run with it. It's just kind of home to me and always has been my favorite number.”
NAPA AUTO PARTS ON BOARD FOR THE 500: NAPA AUTO PARTS will commence the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season on the hood of Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the 60th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 18. NAPA also served as the primary sponsor for Elliott’s first two starts in the “The Great American Race” in 2016 and 2017.
DAYTONA POLE STREAK: Elliott, 22, could become just the fourth driver in history to win three straight Daytona 500 poles. He earned the Daytona 500 pole award as a rookie in 2016 and again in his 2017 sophomore season. No other driver under the age of 23 has won a single pole position for the Daytona 500. Also, if Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team win the 2018 Daytona 500 pole position, crew chief Alan Gustafson would become the first crew chief in NASCAR history to win four consecutive Daytona 500 pole awards. Gustafson earned the Daytona 500 pole with driver Jeff Gordon in 2015 and with Elliott in 2016 and 2017. He is tied with crew chiefs Waddell Wilson – who won three straight Daytona 500 poles with drivers Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison and Benny Parsons from 1980-1982 – and Ernie Elliott – who accomplished the feat with Chase Elliott’s father Bill Elliott from 1985-1987.
FRONT ROW GANG: Last season's Daytona 500 featured a pair of Hendrick Motorsports teammates on the front row to start the event – Chase Elliott first and now-retired Earnhardt second. It marked the fifth time Hendrick Motorsports has earned the top two starting spots in the Daytona 500, which happened for the first time in 1989 with Ken Schrader and Waltrip starting first and second, respectively. Mark Martin, Earnhardt and Johnson went off one-two-three in 2010, and Earnhardt and Gordon started one-two in 2011. In the 2015 Daytona 500, three Hendrick Motorsports teammates once again started at the front of the pack – Gordon first, Johnson second and Earnhardt third.
MOUNTAIN DEW AND THE CLASH: On Sunday, Feb. 11, Elliott will make his second start in The Clash at Daytona International Speedway behind the wheel of the No. 9 Mountain Dew Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native secured his entry into the 75-lap exhibition race with his back-to-back Daytona 500 pole awards in 2016 and 2017. In last season’s 75-lap event, Elliott made a late-race surge to finish seventh.
FLORIDA NATIVE: This weekend, No. 9 team crew chief Gustafson will return home to the "Birthplace of Speed." Gustafson grew up in Ormond Beach, Florida, just down the road from Daytona International Speedway. After graduating from Seabreeze High School, he enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. He returns to Daytona for his seventh season as the crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet and third with Elliott. Gustafson ranks fourth among active crew chiefs for the most wins with 20.
DAYTONA DUEL: Elliott is set to make his third Duel start at Daytona. In his Daytona 500 qualifying event last season, the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 collected his first career Duel victory at Daytona International Speedway during the first race of the evening. It was the ninth win for Hendrick Motorsports in a Daytona 500 qualifying race.
DOUBLE DUTY: In addition to his full-time duty piloting the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Cup Series, Elliott will also run the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener. The 22-year-old driver will be behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports on Saturday, Feb. 17, at Daytona. Elliott captured his most recent win in the Xfinity Series at Daytona while driving for JR Motorsports in 2016.
ATHLON MAGAZINE COVER: In January, Athlon Sports revealed its 2018 NASCAR Preview edition that saw Elliott on the magazine’s cover. Athlon Sports sat down with Elliott and asked him about the switch to the No. 9 car, the former number of his father, Bill Elliott. Check out Elliott’s cover and be sure to grab the magazine on newsstands now.
VISIT TO THE CHEVY STAGE: On Sunday, Feb. 18, Elliott will appear at the Team Chevy Stage at 11:25 a.m. local time for a question-and-answer session.
FLORIDA NATIVE: This weekend, No. 9 team crew chief Gustafson will return home to the "Birthplace of Speed." Gustafson grew up in Ormond Beach, Florida, just down the road from Daytona International Speedway. After graduating from Seabreeze High School, he enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. He returns to Daytona for his seventh season as the crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet and third with Elliott. Gustafson ranks fourth among active crew chiefs for the most wins with 20.
DAYTONA DUEL: Elliott is set to make his third Duel start at Daytona. In his Daytona 500 qualifying event last season, the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 collected his first career Duel victory at Daytona International Speedway during the first race of the evening. It was the ninth win for Hendrick Motorsports in a Daytona 500 qualifying race.
DOUBLE DUTY: In addition to his full-time duty piloting the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Cup Series, Elliott will also run the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener. The 22-year-old driver will be behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports on Saturday, Feb. 17, at Daytona. Elliott captured his most recent win in the Xfinity Series at Daytona while driving for JR Motorsports in 2016.
ATHLON MAGAZINE COVER: In January, Athlon Sports revealed its 2018 NASCAR Preview edition that saw Elliott on the magazine’s cover. Athlon Sports sat down with Elliott and asked him about the switch to the No. 9 car, the former number of his father, Bill Elliott. Check out Elliott’s cover and be sure to grab the magazine on newsstands now.
VISIT TO THE CHEVY STAGE: On Sunday, Feb. 18, Elliott will appear at the Team Chevy Stage at 11:25 a.m. local time for a question-and-answer session.
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