Catchfence

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (Aug. 30, 2010) - Chase Elliott overcame a crash in practice and some misfortune in the race to score a seventh-place finish in Saturday’s Cabarrus Boys and Girls Club 250 at Concord Motor Speedway.
The 250 was the first of five USARracing championship series events, and Elliott entered the race in 19th place in points with 98 markers to make up. The debut of the Red Bull colors on his Ford didn’t look exactly like he had planned. Elliott wrecked in testing on Friday after only a handful of laps on the track. The team opted to repair the severely damaged rear frame as their back-up car was already prepared for a test on Monday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

So the wounded car was transported to a local shop for repair “The men at Billy Hess’s chassis shop were great, and I just can’t thank them enough for staying late on a Friday night to bend our frame back into shape,” Elliott said.

Back at the track on Saturday, the team used two 40-minute practice sessions to get the car back up to speed, and Elliott qualified sixth with a speed of 105.553 miles per hour.

At the start of the 250, Elliott dropped three positions trying to find the best line around the track. On Lap 30 he found his groove and passed Tyler Young back for the eighth position where he remained until the first caution of the night on Lap 45. On the restart Elliott was able to get around Ryan Heavner for the seventh position. On Lap 61 Stephen Nasse took the seventh position away from Elliott who then held the eighth spot until the leader, Caleb Holman, put him down one lap on Lap 104. Elliott raced hard and held on as the first driver one lap down. When the caution flew on Lap 125, Elliott and his team figured to take advantage of the Lucky Dog rule and rejoin the lead lap, but a tactical mistake took away that opportunity.

In the USARacing series, if a driver makes a pit stop during the caution period in which they are eligible for the Lucky Dog, the break is forfeited. Elliott’s team was not clear on the rules and made a pit stop, leaving him one lap down. Elliott lined up to the inside with the lap-down drivers when the green flag again waved on Lap 131. When the next caution came out on Lap 144, Elliott had remained the first driver a lap down.

Again, it was decided to pit, this time for tires and with the knowledge that they would forfeit the Lucky Dog. But the hope was that they would have an opportunity once again to regain the lap. After the restart on Lap 150 Elliott raced hard with Michael Mohelski and passed him clean, but Mohelski accidentally got into the back of Elliott just after the pass and Elliott spun without hitting anything.

Still, the caution came out and he restarted in the back of the field. Elliott raced among the lapped drivers for the remainder of the race and wound up two laps in arrears.

“This weekend was just a big learning curve for me,” he said. “I’m focused on getting to the point where we can run in the top five every week, because that is what can put you in a position to win. We still have four more races to focus on that.

“I am glad that Red Bull has come on board, and I am looking forward to the last four races with them on the car.” Elliott’s father Bill Elliott added that the entire team is in a learning mode.

“We are all learning, from how to race with these guys to the [chassis] set-ups and racing procedures,” he said. “We all have room for improvement, and that is what will focus on for the next event at Bristol.”

Elliott’s next race will be on Saturday, Sept. 4, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the Labor Day Classic 200. The PASS South Super Late Model series will bring stock car racing back to the historic speedway for the first time since 1996.

- Bill Elliott Racing Press Release