CALI REWIND: Last weekend in the NASCAR Cup Series’ final visit to the 2-mile layout of Auto Club Speedway (ACS), Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team had their work cut out for them after rain washed out qualifying for Sunday’s race. Starting in the 33rd position, Elliott and the team made gains throughout the race, finishing the first two stages 10th and seventh, respectively. He took the checkered flag in second for his best finish at the Fontana, California, venue.
LET’S GO TO VEGAS: Elliott has 12 Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with three top-five finishes, five top-10s and 178 laps led. His best finish on the 1.5-mile oval was a runner-up finish in September of 2021. In this race last year, Elliott finished inside the top 10 in each of the first two stages and ultimately scored a ninth-place result.
CENTER STAGE: Elliott has three stage wins at Las Vegas in the Cup Series, which is second among active drivers behind Martin Truex Jr. He’s also second to Truex Jr. on the list of drivers in top-10 stage results at the track with 18.
TOPS AT TOP TWOS: In addition to his series-leading five wins since the start of 2022, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native also tops the category of top-two finishes with nine. Elliott most recently added to that tally last weekend with his runner-up finish at ACS.
1.5-MILERS: Elliott will make his 73rd start on a 1.5-mile track this Sunday in Las Vegas. In his previous 72 races on this track length, he’s led 982 laps. The 2020 Cup Series champion has two career victories on mile-and-a-half ovals, most recently scoring a win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the spring of 2020. Along with his two wins, Elliott has collected 22 top-five finishes – eight of which are runner-up results – and 36 top-10s on 1.5-milers.
BETTIN’ ON ALAN: This weekend, No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 24th race at Las Vegas from atop the pit box. In his previous 23 races at the 1.5-mile oval, Gustafson has garnered six top-five finishes, 10 top-10s and 187 laps led.
NON-TRADITIONAL WIN: Last July, Elliott and Gustafson scored a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile track that was reconfigured prior to the 2022 season. With the debut of superspeedway-style racing on the Georgia oval last year, the track is no longer considered a traditional 1.5-mile oval.
GET UP AND GO: NAPA Auto Parts, the Atlanta-based company that has been a primary partner for all eight of Elliott’s seasons at Hendrick Motorsports, will be on board the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend in Las Vegas. This will mark the 10th time NAPA has served as the primary sponsor of the No. 9 team at the Nevada venue. NAPA colors adorned Elliott’s Chevrolet for his best finish of second at Las Vegas in 2021. Check out the paint scheme here. Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on heading to Las Vegas this weekend: "I was really proud of the effort the entire team put in last week. We know we still have some work to do, but it was good to get a top five under our belts. Hopefully, we can head to Vegas this weekend and put together a good, solid finish and keep the momentum going."
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how the team can build off of its result at Auto Club Speedway: "We struggled a little on intermediate tracks last year after the introduction of this new tire. Our team worked hard during the offseason to regroup and try to make some improvements. I feel like Auto Club (Speedway) was a step in the right direction. The goal is to be able to build off of that and continue to improve as we head to Vegas this weekend. Our last visit there was a tough one for us and obviously we want to do what we can to rebound from that."
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