Driver Chase Elliott on if the No. 9 team is doing anything differently this season to advance to Championship 4:
“I don’t know if we are necessarily taking a different approach. I think we’re just trying to build on what we’ve been working on over the past few years. I feel like every year we’ve been close; we just haven’t been able to get over that hump and really assert ourselves among that top group. I feel like we’ve been right there. I feel like we’re very capable of it. Just those little inconsistencies and some bad racetracks have been our biggest problems. So, we’re trying to be a little more consistent everywhere. I think it’s a goal. And eliminate bad tracks. You can’t have bad tracks at this level, and the guys who win often and win all the time and run (well) don’t have any bad tracks. It’s certainly possible and that’s just where we have to get to. The reality is that’s the only way to contend with them and I think we’re capable of doing it."
Crew chief Alan Gustafson on what it takes to advance to Championship 4:
“Yeah, we’ve got to find a way to get through. I feel like there's certainly been a couple times that I think we could have advanced in the last few years. Winning one of these next three is going to be what it takes, and I think we can do it. We're going to work really hard to do it. We have great support behind us. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports is doing a great job. Greg (Ives) and Alex (Bowman) did a great job getting through. We have two with a shot to make it through. We'd certainly like to get them both.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, will be available to members of the media via video conference on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 1:15 p.m. ET. Visit NASCARmedia.com for details.
KING OF THE QUEEN CITY: Chase Elliott continued his recent dominance at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday by leading 27 laps on the way to his second consecutive victory on the track’s 2.28-mile road course. Earlier this year, Elliott won the second of two NASCAR Cup Series events and the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race on the track’s 1.5-mile oval layout. Additionally, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native led 38 laps and finished second in Charlotte’s annual 600-mile race in May.
ROAD-COURSE REIGN: Sunday’s win at the Charlotte roval was Elliott's fourth consecutive road-course victory, making him and four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon the only drivers in Cup Series history to accomplish four road-course wins in a row.
2020 SEASON: Through 32 races, Elliott has garnered career bests in laps led (810), top-five finishes (13), top-10s (19), stage points (273) and stage wins (eight). His three wins are tied for his most and three runner-up results are the second most for him at the 32-race mark.
NAPA IN KANSAS: On Sunday at Kansas, Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will don the blue, white and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme. The Atlanta-based company is serving as majority sponsor for Elliott and the No. 9 team for a total of 26 NASCAR Cup Series races this season. In February, it was announced that NAPA AUTO PARTS and Hendrick Motorsports will continue their partnership for another two seasons through 2022. Click here to read the full release.
GUSTAFSON IN THE PLAYOFFS: Sunday’s win at the Charlotte roval gives No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson his 10th NASCAR Cup Series career win in the playoffs, the third most of all crew chiefs.
FOUR TO GO: As the NASCAR Cup Series enters the Round of 8 this weekend at Kansas, Elliott currently leads playoff drivers with the most points earned (239), stage points (73) and holds the best average running position (5.66) in the six playoff races. He has also run the most laps in the top five (1,176) and in the top 10 (1,567) of all drivers. In those six playoff races, the driver of the No. 9 holds the third-most laps led (280) and is tied for the second-most top-10s (4) in the playoffs with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman.
1.5-MILE TRACKS IN 2020: In nine 1.5-mile races in 2020, Elliott won at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28 and has two runner-up finishes. He has led the fifth-most laps (262) in the Cup Series and has collected the fourth-most points (329). Elliott’s three stage wins at 1.5-mile tracks are tied for most in the series this season with Bowman and Denny Hamlin.
KANSAS STATS: On Sunday, Elliott is set to make his 10th Kansas Speedway start in the NASCAR Cup Series. He holds the third-best average finish (11.6) at the track among drivers with at least two starts. In Elliott’s nine previous starts at Kansas, he garnered one win, four top-five finishes and five top-10s. Elliott has finished inside the top five in four of the last six races at the 1.5-mile track.
WELCOME HOME: No. 9 team jackman T.J. Semke hails from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, less than 40 miles from Kansas Speedway. Before stepping on the football field at the University of Kansas in 2012, Semke was a part-time bounty hunter. The 27-year-old was a defensive lineman for the Kansas Jayhawks for three years, earning Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honors twice. Semke signed with Hendrick Motorsports in October 2016.
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