Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media at the Chicago Street Course media center on Saturday, July 1, at 11:15 a.m. local time.
NASHVILLE IN THE REARVIEW: Chase Elliott qualified 14th for last Sunday's 300-lap NASCAR Cup Series event at Nashville Superspeedway. The 27-year-old driver earned valuable stage points in each of the race's first two stages, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively. His strong run continued into the final stage, ultimately resulting in a fourth-place finish. The effort marked his second consecutive top-five finish dating back to Sonoma Raceway, and his fourth top-five finish of the season in just 10 starts. Elliott has now achieved two top-five finishes, including a win in 2022, in only three Cup Series starts at Nashville.
NEW IS GOOD: This weekend, the Cup Series heads to the brand-new Chicago Street Course, making it one of three road courses on the current schedule on which Elliott has yet to win (Sonoma and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course being the others). New tracks have been good to the Dawsonville, Georgia, native throughout his career. He’s been victorious three times (all on road courses) at first-time events held in the modern era – Road America in 2021, Circuit of The Americas in 2021 and the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in 2020.
ROAD WARRIOR: In 26 Cup Series starts on road courses, Elliott has an average finish of 8.04, with seven wins, 15 top-five finishes and 18 top-10s. His average finish is not only the best among active drivers, but third all-time among drivers (five or more starts) behind NASCAR legends Fireball Roberts and Buck Baker. Elliott has proven his road-racing prowess, leading all active drivers with seven wins on road courses. He’s also third on the all-time list of drivers with road course victories, trailing only NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight). With triumphs across five different road courses, Elliott has won at the most serpentine tracks in series history. His seven stage wins are the most all-time on this track type.
ROAD RACING RUNDOWN: Since the start of 2022, Elliott has earned a best finish of second on road courses, coming at Road America last season. In that span, he has a total of four top-five finishes and five top-10s across seven starts on serpentine tracks. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has paced the field for 128 laps on road courses since the beginning of last season and earned two pole awards (Road America and Watkins Glen International).
FIRST WIN: Elliott’s first career Cup Series win came at a road course – Watkins Glen in 2018. The five-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver winner started the race from the third position and led 52 of 90 laps en route to the victory.
VIEW FROM THE TOP: While this is the first time the series will race on a street course, crew chief Alan Gustafson has plenty of experience on tracks where left and right turns are made. Across 47 Cup Series races on road courses, the veteran crew chief has led his team to seven wins – a series high among active crew chiefs – 18 top-five finishes, 25 top-10s and 527 laps led.
POINTING IN: Elliott currently sits 25th in the Cup Series point standings, 64 markers outside of the provisional cutline for a playoff spot with nine races left in the regular season. Last weekend at Nashville, the 2020 Cup Series champion gained 20 points on the bubble and needs to average eight markers per race on the cutline in the final nine races to advance to the playoffs on points.
WIN AND IN: While pointing his way in isn’t impossible, the easiest way for Elliott to lock himself into the playoffs is with a victory. Last season, the summer was a hot one for Elliott and the No. 9 team on the track. Together, they put together five consecutive finishes of second or better, including three wins (Nashville, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway). Elliott has earned four of his 18 career Cup Series wins across three of the nine tracks left in the regular season (Pocono, Atlanta and two wins at Watkins Glen). At four of the other tracks, Elliott has nearly taken home the hardware. He’s finished runner-up at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Michigan International Speedway (three times) and Daytona International Speedway (twice).
HOOTERS IS BACK: Hooters is back as the primary partner of the No. 9 team this weekend at the Chicago Street Course for its second of three races in 2023. Earlier this year as part of the company’s 40th anniversary, Hooters unveiled a special Night Owl paint scheme for the 2023 season. Get a look at all the angles of the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet here.
WHEN CHASE WINS YOU WIN: Fans can visit Hooters on Mondays after Cup Series races this season and ask their server for free fried pickles when Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team finishes in the top 10. If the No. 9 team wins, customers receive 10 free wings with any 10-wing purchase. Get more details at hooters.com/racing.
STOP ON BY: Elliott will drop by the Hooters of O'Hare, located at 8225 W. Higgins Road in Chicago, this Saturday at 5 p.m. local time. Fans will have the opportunity to grab an autograph from the Hooters Racing driver and see the No. 9 Hooters Night Owl Chevrolet that he'll be driving on Sunday.
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how he views the Chicago Street Course from an event perspective: "That’s a good question. I think it depends on which hat you’re wearing. If you’re wearing a competitor’s hat - for me, it’s us going up there and trying to put ourselves in position to win. From a fan standpoint, you’re tapping into a part of the country that I think has a lot of race fans, a lot of NASCAR fans, but into city limits that a lot of those people might not have typically come out to Joliet or somewhere up there. For them, I think it’s about it being a good event and it being exciting for them. There's a lot of stuff going on for them and they feel like they’re at the event. That needs to feel like the event that weekend over a (Chicago) Cubs game or whatever it may be. I think that will make it successful from a promoter’s standpoint. From the racing side, I don’t think I have to leave the racetrack and think – oh wow, that was a really great race for it to be successful to the viewership or the people that show up in attendance."
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how experience plays a role in preparing for the Chicago Street Course: "I don't think you can comment too much about it as far as the competition side goes because you just don't know. You want versatility but with the format, you don't have the opportunity to really adjust. You just have to try and find places and corners from different tracks that you think may apply. You use that information to try and put it together and have something reasonable to go there and run with. It's just super hard to do anything besides lean on some of your experience and some tracks that have similar styles of corners."
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