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| Chase Elliott won last fall at Dover. |
“To have a win this early in the year I think is nice. And just because we won at Dover and Kansas last year doesn't mean we're going to go run well there, too. You know that. It's going to be hit‑or‑miss. We're going to go there, see what we have. We didn't run well at Richmond, which was unfortunate. Had a good day at Talladega, need to ride that as best we can in Dover.”
No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson on racing at Dover:
“I’m looking forward to Dover. I don't know if that's just because I like the track, like to go there and race at it. Typically, besides the win, we have a pretty good track record there."
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Brakes Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to the media on Friday, May 3, at 12:45 p.m. local time in the media center at Dover International Speedway.
'DEGA, BABY: Chase Elliott brought home his fourth career NASCAR Cup Series win and first of the 2019 season last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. En route to the Talladega victory, the 23-year-old driver collected his first stage win of the year and led a total of 45 laps in the 188-lap event. The win puts Elliott seventh in the driver points standings, 106 points out of first.
WINNING WAYS: In the last 25 races, Elliott ranks third for the most wins with four – behind only Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch, who both have five. Since capturing his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in Aug. 2018 at Watkins Glen, he is the only Chevrolet driver to have won a race. In those last 25 starts, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native has collected eight top-five finishes – including one runner-up result – 14 top-10s, 436 laps led and an average finishing position of 10.68. In the last five races of the 2019 season, Elliott has led a total of 167 laps, compared to zero in the first five events of the year.
GUSTAFSON STATS: On Sunday at Talladega, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson collected his 24th win - ranked fifth among active crew chiefs for most wins - and first at a superspeedway. Now in his 15th season as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief, the 43-year-old has accumulated 137 top-five finishes, 247 top-10s and 27 pole awards. His drivers average a starting position of 13.5 and finish of 14.7.
NAPA BRAKES CHEVROLET: This weekend, Elliott will pilot the No. 9 NAPA Brakes Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Dover International Speedway. On Monday, NAPA AUTO PARTS revealed the black-and-yellow machine on their newly relaunched Instagram account. The paint scheme coincides with NAPA AUTO PARTS’ May brakes promotion.
NAPA BRAKES PROMO: Elliott’s scheme will promote NAPA AUTO PARTS’ brakes special that will run throughout the month May. Customers can get up to $75 off a qualifying NAPA brake parts purchase of $250 at participating NAPA AUTO PARTS stores and NAPA AutoCare centers.
LAST TIME AT DOVER: Last fall at Dover International Speedway, Elliott conquered the "Monster Mile" to capture his second career Cup Series win and clinch a spot in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR playoffs. Starting the day in ninth, the driver of the No. 9 Chevy overcame an early uncontrolled tire violation and utilized a strategy call by Gustafson to stay on-track during a late caution to take the lead. He held that lead through multiple restarts to ultimately capture the victory in overtime.
'MONSTER MILE' STATS: Elliott has garnered five top-five finishes in six starts at Dover International Speedway, four of which were top-three finishes. Among those top-three finishes was his win last season and a runner-up result in 2017. His five top-five finishes rank Dover as one of his top-three tracks. Elliott averages a starting position of 10.8 and a finishing position of 4.3 at the one-mile oval and has led 149 laps – including a career race-high 138 laps led in Oct. 2017. Elliott finished in the top three in both of his rookie appearances at Dover in 2016 – something only Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Davey Allison have accomplished in their rookie seasons. Elliott also has four starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the Dover, Delaware, track and never finished outside the top 10 in either series.
GUSTAFSON AT DOVER: Gustafson will call his 29th “Monster Mile” Cup Series race from atop the pit box this weekend. In his previous 28 races calling the shots for five different drivers (Elliott, Busch, Casey Mears, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon) at Dover, he has collected two wins, with his most recent victory coming last season with Elliott. He also has 14 top-five finishes – five of which were runner-up results – 16 top-10s and 420 laps led at the track.
NEXT THREE: Looking ahead, the three upcoming tracks on the schedule – Dover, Kansas and Charlotte – are all tracks where Elliott and the No. 9 team have been successful. During the most recent visits to Dover and Kansas, the driver of the No. 9 captured wins that secured his spot in the Round of 8 in the 2018 playoffs. Elliott also garnered a runner-up finish, his career-best at the track, at Charlotte in October 2017 after leading 12 laps. Elliott has collected his second-most top-five finishes at Dover.
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