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| Chase Elliott has an ARCA win at Pocono. |
“I’ve really liked racing at Pocono. It’s pretty unique place that we go to and it’s been a lot of fun to race in the past. It’s usually a challenge, but I like a challenge so that may be why I enjoy it so much. Looking forward to this weekend and seeing how the new package will handle at the track.”
Elliott on designing the Braves NAPA Night Hat:
“I came by the stadium one day, a handful of months ago, and we started talking about ideas. If you have ever seen any Braves hat ever, that anyone has ever wore, it was on the table that day. Everything you could possible think of. I had plenty of ideas to pick through and basically I kind of just married up a couple of ideas that I liked and obviously I tried to incorporate the NAPA colors as well. They (NAPA AUTO PARTS) are obviously, ironically enough a partner of mine as well – in a big way. They’ve been really good to me and they are also an Atlanta-based company at that. They are a really great fit for both (Elliott and Braves). It’s great to have their names on the hat with the Braves and it turned out good. I appreciate everybody letting me be a part of the hat.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media on Friday, May 31, at 3:15 p.m. local time in the media center at Pocono Raceway.
SO FAR IN 2019: Halfway through the regular season, Chase Elliott has led a total of 400 laps – leading in seven of the eight races after going the first five races of the season without leading a single lap and currently the fourth most laps led by a driver this season. He has started from the pole position in two of the last six races (Bristol, Dover). In the first 13 races of the season, Elliott has collected five top-five finishes, six top-10s and averages a starting position of 12.4 and finishing position of 9.6. Last weekend’s fourth-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway moved him to third in the driver point standings.
KEEP THE STREAK ALIVE: The driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has collected four straight top-five finishes (Talladega – first; Dover – fifth; Kansas – fourth; Charlotte - fourth). It marks the longest top-five streak of the 23-year-old driver's NASCAR Cup Series career. His longest previous streak was two races in August 2018 (Bristol – Darlington).
CHARLOTTE RECAP: Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS team ran a strong race on NASCAR’s longest night, earning a top-five finish in each stage and a fourth-place finishing result. The race was Elliott’s fourth consecutive top-five effort and moved the No. 9 NAPA driver to third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings.
POCONO STATS: Elliott is set to make his seventh start at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend. He is currently on a streak of four top-10 finishes at the "Tricky Triangle", second longest streak by track behind only Michigan (six-race streak). In his first six starts at the Pennsylvania track, the 23-year-old driver has collected one top-five finish and five top-10s. Elliott averages a starting position of 12.7 and a finishing position of 12.0. During his rookie start at Pocono in June 2016, he led 51 laps en route to a fourth-place finish, his best finish at the venue.
NO STRANGER TO POCONO: Besides his six starts in the Cup Series at the track, last season, Elliott made his Pocono NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the No. 23 Chevrolet, starting 10th and collecting a runner-up finish in the 100-lap event. He has also made two ARCA Series starts at the Pocono. In his first visit to the track in June 2013, Elliott started 32nd and went on to lead 21 laps before collecting his first ARCA win.
ENGINE, ENGINE, NO. 9: This weekend, Elliott could become the third driver to win with the No. 9 car number. The No. 9 car number currently ranks fourth for the most wins at Pocono Raceway with six victories. His dad, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, garnered five of those wins and Kasey Kahne collected the most recent win with the No. 9 in June 2008.
GUSTAFSON AT THE TRICKY TRIANGLE: No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 29th Pocono race from atop the pit box at the 2.5-mile triangle this weekend. In his previous 28 starts with five different drivers (Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Casey Mears and Kyle Busch), Gustafson has collected two wins – with Gordon in June 2011 and August 2012 – and garnered six top-five finishes and 16 top-10s.
HOME SWEET HOME: As the Cup Series heads to Pocono, there are four members of the No. 9 team that call the Keystone State home – car chief Josh Kirk (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania), engineer Matt Barndt (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania), primary truck driver Dave Ott (St. Marys, Pennsylvania) and co-truck driver Heath Edler (Williamsport, Pennsylvania).
BEHIND THE BRAVES: Last week, Elliott, an avid Atlanta Braves fan, joined MLB.com’s Ricky Mast and former Braves World Series champion and current director of alumni relations Greg McMichael on “Behind the Braves”, the official Atlanta Braves podcast to talk racing and baseball. Click here to listen to the full episode. They also chatted about the upcoming NAPA AUTO PARTS night (Wednesday, May 29) where the first 15,000 fans through the gate will receive a Braves/NAPA cap designed by Elliott.
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