Chase Elliott and NAPA Know How Team Return to Iowa
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 29, 2014) – When the NASCAR Nationwide Series last visited Iowa Speedway 11 weeks and 10 races ago, there was more on the mind of NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Chase Elliott than just racing.
That was the weekend Elliott graduated high school. After practicing his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet in Iowa on Friday, he boarded a plane, flew home, graduated on Saturday morning, and flew back to Iowa in time to race the NAPA Chevy. He finished fourth on May 18 with no prior experience in a Nationwide car at the 7/8-mile speedway.
Now with high school in his rearview mirror, Elliott will return to Iowa looking to capitalize on his gained experience and successful result in May. Like before, Elliott enters the Iowa race as the Nationwide Series points leader, a position he lost after the Charlotte race (May 24) and regained two weeks ago following his victory at Chicagoland Speedway.
Despite the limited seat time at Iowa, the 18-year-old does know how to find victory lane there, as he won Iowa’s K&N Pro Series East race on May 19, 2012. Among three different series (K&N Pro, NASCAR Camping World Truck, and Nationwide) Elliott has six starts and four top-five finishes at Iowa Speedway.
Saturday’s U.S. Cellular 250 Nationwide race at the .875-mile Iowa Speedway kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and MRN/Sirius XM. In addition to his overall points lead, Elliott enters the weekend leading the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by 44 points over Ty Dillon.
Driver Quotes | Chase Elliott
On the Iowa race and graduation weekend in May:
“It was an exciting weekend going back and forth between Iowa and Georgia. If I hadn’t been in Georgia to graduate, I probably would’ve looked back one day and regretted it, so I’m happy I was able to pull it off.”
On this weekend at Iowa Speedway:
“It will be good to get back out to Iowa where we ran competitively in May. After a disappointing performance at Indy this past weekend, I’m excited to get back in the NAPA AUTO PARTS car and get to work. You will have your ups and downs in racing, but staying focused is key to overall success, it’s a long season, and we have to stay levelheaded.”
NASCAR Nationwide Series TV Schedule
All times Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Friday, August 1
4:30 PM NASCAR Nationwide Series Iowa Practice NO TV
7:00 PM NASCAR Nationwide Series Iowa Final Practice NO TV
Saturday, August 2
4:40 PM NASCAR Nationwide Series Iowa Qualifying ESPN
8:00 PM NASCAR Nationwide Series Iowa Race ESPN
RADIO: MRN & Sirius XM Ch. 90 (7:30 pm ET)
2014 NATIONWIDE SERIES DRIVER POINTS
1. Chase Elliott…………………………………….. 678
2. Regan Smith……………………………………….. -4
3. Elliott Sadler…………………………………….. -11
4. Ty Dillon…………………………………………… -15
5. Brian Scott……………………………………….. -42
2014 SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POINTS
1. Chase Elliott…………………………………….. 253
2. Ty Dillon…………………………………………… -44
3. Chris Buescher………………………………….. -76
4. Ryan Reed………………………………………. -117
5. Dylan Kwasniewski…………………………… -122
NAPA AUTO PARTS:@theNAPAnetwork
CHASE ELLIOTT:@ChaseElliott
JR MOTORSPORTS: @JRMotorsports