Elliott Finishes Fifth at Dover International Speedway
Dover, Del. (June 1, 2014) – Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet, finished 5th in Saturday’s Buckle Up 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Dover International Speedway. It was his sixth top five of the season, which trimmed teammate Regan Smith’s driver points lead to 22. Kyle Busch led a race-high 124 laps to capture his record 66th career Nationwide Series win.
Starting second after dominating the two practices sessions on Friday, Elliott powered his NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevy to the lead before the conclusion of lap one. Elliott went on to lead the first 18 laps, picking up a bonus point before the first caution flag flew. Crew chief Greg Ives brought Elliott in for four tires and fuel. The caution showed various team strategies with some teams taking two tires, others taking four, and some staying out for track position. Elliott restarted fifth on lap 25.
The final restart came with 42 laps to go with Elliott in fifth. He made a move to the inside of the No. 20 car of Matt Kenseth, but was unable to make the pass. The race ended uneventfully, with Busch running away with the win, and Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano, Kenseth and Elliott rounding out the top five. It was Smith’s 12th consecutive top-10 finish, and he now has a four-point lead over second-place Elliott Sadler.
Driver Quotes | Chase Elliott
“It’s a little frustrating for us today. The difference was Kyle just did a better job getting back to the front, as we were on the same strategy as him. That was a huge difference maker. It was a lesson learned for our NAPA AUTO PARTS team and we’ll be better prepared in the fall race when it counts. I’ve got to do a better job getting around cars on this race track. Once that happens we’ll be just fine.”
2014 NATIONWIDE SERIES DRIVER POINTS
1. Regan Smith…………………………………… 448
2. Elliott Sadler……………………………………… -4
3. Chase Elliott……………………………………. -22
4. Trevor Bayne…………………………………… -27
5. Ty Dillon………………………………………….. -34
6. Brian Scott………………………………………. -57
7. Brendan Gaughan………………………….. -107
8. James Buescher…………………………….. -116
9. Chris Buescher……………………………….. -120
10. Dylan Kwasniewski……………………. -145
NAPA AUTO PARTS:@theNAPAnetwork
CHASE ELLIOTT:@ChaseElliott
JR Motorsports:@JRMotorsports