Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media at the Michigan International Speedway media center on Saturday, Aug. 5, at 11:45 a.m. local time.
IRISH HILLS NUMBERS: Heading into this weekend, Chase Elliott holds the best all-time average finish (8.00) of NASCAR Cup Series drivers with more than two starts at Michigan International Speedway. He has placed inside the top 10 in 10 of his 12 career Cup starts there – tied with Martinsville Speedway for his most top 10s at a track. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has also collected three top-five finishes at the Irish Hills track – all of which are runner-up results – and has paced the field for 144 laps.
RUNNER-UP FINISHERS: Elliott is in good company as one of five drivers with the most runner-up finishes at Michigan before their first win at the track. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon also earned three second-place results before capturing his first win on the Irish Hills oval (1998). Elliott joins Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte in having three runner-up results without a win at the Brooklyn, Michigan, venue.
SOLID ON 2-MILERS: On Sunday, Elliott is set to make his 20th Cup start on a 2-mile oval (Auto Club Speedway and Michigan). In his 19 previous Cup Series starts on this track length, Elliott has earned five top-five finishes – including four runner-up efforts – and 14 top-10s. In his most recent start at Auto Club earlier this season, the 27-year-old driver finished stage one in ninth and stage two in seventh before taking the checkered flag in the second position.
BUILDING CONSISTENCY: Over the last seven races in the 2023 season, Elliott holds the best average finish (8.56) and has earned the fourth-most points (215). He has three top-five finishes and four top-10s in that span, with a best finish of third coming at the Chicago Street Course. In addition, the 2020 Cup Series champion has completed 100% of the laps in those seven events, one of only four drivers to do so.
GUSTAFSON AT MICHIGAN: Alan Gustafson is set to call his 35th Michigan Cup Series race from atop the pit box on Sunday, just one day after his 48th birthday. In his previous 34 starts at the venue with five different drivers (Elliott, Gordon, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Casey Mears), Gustafson has collected two wins (Martin in 2009 and Gordon in 2014), five top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and 370 laps led. For the 2014 victory, Gustafson’s team started from the pole position. Gordon’s qualifying lap that weekend of 206.558 mph still stands as the fastest-ever qualifying speed that did not occur at a superspeedway.
PLAYOFF OUTLOOK: With just four races left in the regular season, Elliott currently sits 20th in the driver point standings and is 40 points below the provisional cutline to advance to the Cup Series playoffs. Last weekend at Richmond Raceway, the 2020 Cup champion gained 16 points on the cutline and has been impressive on the four tracks coming up on the schedule. In addition to three runner-up results at Michigan, Elliott has a best finish of fourth at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, two wins at Watkins Glen International and two second-place efforts at Daytona International Speedway. A victory would lock the driver of the No. 9 into the postseason. Stage points and strong finishes will also be key over the next four weekends to keep the five-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver in the hunt to point his way in.
GET UP AND GO: NAPA Auto Parts is back on board the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Michigan. The Atlanta-based company has been the primary partner for Elliott for all but three of his Cup starts on the 2-mile oval, including all three of his runner-up finishes. Get a look at all the angles of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet here.
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Michigan: "Michigan (International Speedway) is an important race on the schedule with it being close to Detroit. It’s also a part of the country I really enjoy during the summer months and I’m looking forward to going up there. It would be great to go there this weekend, get a win for Team Chevy and lock ourselves into the playoffs."
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what the team can take from the strong run at Auto Club Speedway to use at Michigan this weekend: "Yeah, we had a really good run. Fontana's so rough. The track surfaces are so different. The shapes are similar, but the surface is different. I do think there's some things that we can use as general guidelines, but you can't fine tune it because the surfaces are just so much different. It does make me optimistic that we can have the same success this weekend."
Gustafson, on what it takes to run well at Michigan: "Michigan, it’s an interesting balance between, it’s fast but your car still has to handle well and drive good, and you're just on the throttle for so long. So, having the car secure enough to run a lot of throttle through the corners is really the key."
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