NASCAR Nationwide Series Takes Center Stage at Chicago

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 15, 2014) – With the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on its final bye weekend of the season, the Nationwide Series takes center stage in one of the hotbed areas known for its big stages, bright spotlights, and launching pads for historic careers – the “Windy City,” Chicago, Ill.

The same town that gave us young performers John Belushi and Bill Murray in renowned “The Second City” theatre, Chicago will provide the weekend entertainment for Midwest race fans with Nationwide Series’ EnjoyIllinois.com 300 at nearby Chicagoland Speedway.

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet, looks to close the 13-point deficit to teammate Regan Smith for first place in the point standings at a track he’ll see twice in the next two months.  Only 16 races remain, as last weekend the Nationwide Series surpassed the halfway point of the 2014 season.

Elliott has never raced at Chicagoland Speedway, a 1.5-mile tri-oval.  That doesn’t make it any more unique than, say, Darlington Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, both tracks where Elliott has been victorious this year.  The EnjoyIllinois.com 300 begins at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.  It will mark the 18-year-old’s fifth start this season at a 1.5-mile track.  So far he has one win and two top-five finishes at tracks of that distance.

Elliott enters the weekend leading the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings with a 47-point advantage over Ty Dillon.

Driver Quotes | Chase Elliott

“It should be a fun weekend for the Nationwide Series being the only NASCAR race going on, plus it’s on Saturday night, which is awesome.  I love running under the lights.  It’ll be my first time at Chicagoland Speedway.  It looks like a fun track with a lot of character, so hopefully it will be a good show for the fans.

“The mile-and-a-half tracks have all been different this year, but I definitely like going to them.  It’s always great going back to Chicago.  It’s a city I really enjoy visiting.  I had a great time last month when I participated in a NASCAR media tour to help promote this weekend’s EnjoyIllinois.com 300.  I got to compete in a beach volleyball match against (NHRA driver) Courtney Force at Castaway’s on Lake Michigan.  That was a lot of fun, and hopefully a lot of those fans will come to the race this weekend.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series TV Schedule

All times Eastern Standard Time (EST)

Friday, July 18
3:30 PM                    NASCAR Nationwide Series Chicago Practice                     FOX Sports 1
6:30 PM                    NASCAR Nationwide Series Chicago Final Practice                      FOX Sports 1

Saturday, July 19
4:10 PM                    NASCAR Nationwide Series Chicago Qualifying                FOX Sports 2
8:30 PM                    NASCAR Nationwide Series Chicago Race                           ESPN2

RADIO: MRN & Sirius XM Ch 90 (8:00 pm EST)

2014 Nationwide Series Driver Points

1. Regan Smith………………………………………… 611
2. Elliott Sadler…………………………………………… -8
3. Chase Elliott…………………………………………. -13
4. Ty Dillon……………………………………………… -34
5. Brian Scott…………………………………………… -51

2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Points

1. Chase Elliott………………………………………… 234
2. Ty Dillon……………………………………………… -47
3. Chris Buescher………………………………………. -72
4. Ryan Reed………………………………………….. -103
5. Dylan Kwasniewski………………………………… -110

NAPA AUTO PARTS:@theNAPAnetwork
CHASE ELLIOTT:@ChaseElliott
JR MOTORSPORTS: @JRMotorsports