Richmond International Raceway: Chase Elliott’s Perfect Track?
RICHMOND, Va. (April 22, 2014) – If you had an unlimited budget to design and construct a new race track, what would it look like?
For Chase Elliott, it’s an easy answer. He would build a track that resembles Richmond International Raceway, where the NASCAR Nationwide Series will continue its season with race No. 8 of 33 this Friday (6:30 p.m. ET on ESPNews).
Richmond is a three-quarter-mile track, relatively flat with a worn surface, which makes for great short-track racing and gives drivers many opportunities to pass. Elliott made his name on short tracks. Short tracks are his forte, even though he’s shown he can win on bigger tracks with little to no experience.
Interestingly enough, Richmond is one of the few places on the NNS schedule that the 18-year-old is somewhat familiar with. He has raced there twice in the K&N Pro Series East, finishing second in the 2012 event.
Elliott will proceed to his idea of the perfect track on the heels of two consecutive victories, which have propelled him into the series points lead, making him the youngest to ever hold the top spot. His advantage over fellow teammate, Regan Smith, grew to 13 points after his Darlington win. Elliott also retains a 22-point lead over Ty Dillon in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year column.
Driver Quotes | Chase Elliott
On his idea of the perfect race track:
“If I constructed a new race track, I would make it racy but where you have to run up against the wall. It would probably be a shorter track, maybe just a little bigger than a half-mile. The biggest thing would be to make sure the surface is worn out, because that’s going to put on the best show for the fans, and that’s what matters.”
On the team’s mentality after two consecutive victories:
“The past few weeks have been unbelievable. They are memories I will never forget. But there’s so much racing to be done, and everybody knows that. I just have to make sure we keep our heads on straight and make sure we stay on the right track, and that’s to get better every week. We need to continue to get better, because that’s what our competition is doing right now.”
TV SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES EASTERN STANDARD TIME):
Thursday, April 24
1:00PM NASCAR Nationwide practice no TV
2:30PM NASCAR Nationwide practice no TV
Friday, April 25
3:00PM NASCAR Nationwide qualifying ESPN2
7:00PM NASCAR Nationwide race (250 laps) ESPNEWS
Radio: MRN & Sirius XM Ch 90 (6:30 pm ET)
2014 NATIONWIDE SERIES DRIVER POINTS
1. Chase Elliott……………………………………. 271
2. Regan Smith……………………………………. -13
3. Elliott Sadler……………………………………. -20
4. Ty Dillon………………………………………….. -23
5. Trevor Bayne…………………………………… -30
6. Brian Scott………………………………………. -46
7. Brendan Gaughan……………………………. -56
8. Dylan Kwasniewski…………………………… -71
9. James Buescher………………………………. -76
10. Ryan Reed…………………………………….. -99
2014 SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POINTS
1. Chase Elliott…………………………………….. 109
2. Ty Dillon…………………………………………… -22
3. Dylan Kwasniewski…………………………….. -47
5. Dakoda Armstrong……………………………… -61
NAPA AUTO PARTS:@theNAPAnetwork
CHASE ELLIOTT:@ChaseElliott
JR Motorsports:@JRMotorsports