Chase Elliott Prepares for Dover from North Carolina Home Base
North Carolina’s newest resident is enjoying life at the shop.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 27, 2014) – Now that he’s graduated high school, 18-year-old Chase Elliott has officially moved to North Carolina. He lives not too far from JR Motorsports, which has become his new classroom, so to speak.
Here he studies just as hard as he did in high school, if not more. He meets frequently with his professor, even if the professor goes by the title crew chief. He interacts often with his classmates, even if his classmates go by the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS team. This is where Elliott is preparing for his future. Many are noticing that his future is bright.
“Having Chase in the shop has already been a big plus,” said NAPA team crew chief Greg Ives. “Having him here on a weekly basis will show the appreciation and hard work this team puts in regularly.”
One of the first areas in which Ives expects to see a big difference is communication, not so much between himself and his driver, but his driver and the team.
“Drivers attending competition meetings help put their words into action,” he said. “Our driver fills out a post-race report after each race. We go through it with a fine-tooth comb and study it. But with Chase in our meetings now, we get that first-hand account. The driver can express the one area that will help resolve our issues, which then helps put a better product on the track the following week.”
Hopefully that means a successful race at Dover International Speedway this Saturday, where the NAPA 9 team will be racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He enters the weekend third in the driver points (-28 points behind Regan Smith). Elliott is still leading the Sunoco Rookie of the Year column (+29 over Ty Dillon). ESPN’s coverage of the Buckle Up 200 begins at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Driver Quotes | Chase Elliott
“It’s been a great experience being around my NAPA AUTO PARTS team at JRM the past week. Seeing firsthand how much hard work goes into building a single race car gives me a serious appreciation for what the shop guys do. These guys work so hard day in and day out. I feel closer to the race track now that I’m a part of the weekly competition meetings with Greg, Ryan and Ernie. This is something I’ve been waiting to experience first-hand for quite some time.
“I’m looking forward to going to Dover this weekend and getting back on the race track. I had some success there last year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and look to build on that.”
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES TV SCHEDULE
All times Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Friday, May 30
10:00 AM NASCAR Nationwide Series Dover Practice NO TV
2:00 PM NASCAR Nationwide Series Dover Practice FOX Sports 1
Saturday, May 31
10:40 AM NASCAR Nationwide Series Dover Qualifying ESPN2
2:00 PM NASCAR Nationwide Series Dover Race ESPN
RADIO: MRN & Sirius XM Ch 90 (2:00 pm ET)
2014 NATIONWIDE SERIES DRIVER POINTS
1. Regan Smith…………………………………….. 414
2. Elliott Sadler………………………………………. -5
3. Chase Elliott……………………………………… -28
4. Trevor Bayne…………………………………….. -35
5. Ty Dillon…………………………………………… -36
2014 SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POINTS
1. Chase Elliott…………………………………….. 157
2. Ty Dillon…………………………………………… -29
3. Chris Buescher………………………………….. -56
4. Dylan Kwasniewski…………………………….. -69
5. Ryan Reed………………………………………… -77
NAPA AUTO PARTS: @theNAPAnetwork
Chase Elliott: @ChaseElliott
JR Motorsports: @JRMotorsports