150TH START: Chase Elliott is set to make his 150th career NASCAR Cup Series start on Sunday, Feb. 16 in the 62nd running of the DAYTONA 500. He will be the third-youngest driver to make their 150th start (24 years, 2 months, 19 days) – only Joey Logano and Kyle Busch were younger. Elliott has proven to be a bona fide star, accumulating six wins, 44 top-five finishes and 74 top-10 finishes. He has eight pole awards and 1,844 laps led. There have been nine drivers who have won in their 150th start, including his father, NASCAR Champion and Hall of Fame Driver Bill Elliott at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1985, and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in 2006 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
SPEEDWEEKS SUCCESS: Elliott has won an event during three of the last four Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. In 2016, he won the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener. The following year, Elliott collected his first career Duel victory at Daytona in the first qualifying event of the evening. He continued the streak in 2018 by winning his second consecutive Duel. In addition to those victories, Elliott was in position to win the 2017 DAYTONA 500 before running out of fuel from the lead on Lap 198 of 200.
500 POLE WINNER: Elliott earned the DAYTONA 500 pole award as a rookie in 2016 and again in his 2017 sophomore season. No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson also earned the DAYTONA 500 pole with driver Jeff Gordon in 2015 and with Elliott in 2016 and 2017. He is tied with NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief Waddell Wilson and Elliott’s uncle, Ernie Elliott, for the most consecutive DAYTONA 500 poles by a crew chief. Wilson won three straight poles with drivers Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison and Benny Parsons from 1980-82. Ernie Elliott accomplished the feat with Chase Elliott’s father, Bill Elliott, from 1985-87.
LOOK BACK AT 2019: While 2019 was a season of highs and lows for the No. 9 team, Elliott captured career-bests in pole awards (four) and laps led (601). He ultimately captured three wins, 11 top-five finishes and 15 top-10s on the way to advancing to the Round of 8 in the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
FLORIDA NATIVE: This weekend, Gustafson will return home to the "Birthplace of Speed." Gustafson hails from 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 study mechanical engineering. Gustafson returns to Daytona for his 16th full-time season as a crew chief and his fifth year with Elliott.
GUSTAFSON AT DAYTONA: Though Gustafson has never won a points race at Daytona, he has collected two Duel wins (2017, 2018) with Elliott. The 44-year-old crew chief also has two runner-up finishes at the 2.5-mile superspeedway with Kyle Busch in 2006 and 2007. The 2007 result with Busch and Jamie McMurray was the closest margin of victory ever in the summer race at Daytona (0.005 seconds). Gustafson also has won the pole award at Daytona five times with three drivers (Chase Elliott – 3, Jeff Gordon – 1, Mark Martin – 1). He is tied with Leonard Wood and Waddell Wilson for the most DAYTONA 500 pole awards for a crew chief with four.
NAPA AUTO PARTS ON BOARD FOR THE 500: NAPA AUTO PARTS will kick off the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season on the hood of Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for his fifth consecutive DAYTONA 500. NAPA has served as the primary sponsor for all four of Elliott’s previous starts in "The Great American Race."
MTN DEW CLASH CAR: In January, Elliott’s Clash ride was unveiled via Hendrick Motorsports’ social media channels. The black and green Chevrolet will look wildly familiar, but unexpectedly different as it features Mountain Dew’s new product, Mtn Dew Zero Sugar. Mtn Dew Zero Sugar has the bold taste and exhilarating charge of the original but none of the sugar, and Elliott now has an exciting new ride to go along with it. Take a closer look at the No. 9 Mtn Dew Zero Sugar Chevy here.
VISIT TO THE CHEVY STAGE: On Sunday, Feb. 16, Elliott will visit the Team Chevy stage at Daytona International Speedway at 11:20 a.m. ET for a question-and-answer session.
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