Monday
Chase Elliott Nails Top-Five Finish In World Crown 300
Press Release
Motorsports Park. Elliott started on the inside of the second row for the 300 lap race in the third position, where he time trialed in on Friday night. That starting spot toward the front of the field proved to be crucial during of the legendary race as it allowed Elliott to avoid a major crash in the early going.
When the green flag waved to start the race, Bubba Pollard and Cale Gale brought the field down to the green flag with Chase Elliott and Justin Wakefield in tow. Wakefield was able to use the high line and work himself around Elliott on the backstretch for third before the first yellow of the afternoon came out on the second lap for a single car spin in turns one and two.
With cleanup complete, the field was set to resume racing action on lap 8. When the green flag waved, Chase Elliott wasted no time working his way back into third as he moved past pole sitter, Cale Gale, on the backstretch. However, as the field came out of turn four, a melee ensued from sixth spot on back collecting a dozen cars and knocking several top drivers out of contention. The track became blocked and drivers had nowhere to go except into each other on the front straightaway at Gresham Motorsports Park.
Fortunately for Elliott, he qualified well enough to be ahead of the accident. The race was red flagged for over 20 minutes as safety crews cleaned the track of battered race cars, debris, and fluids. No drivers were injured, but the same could not be said for many of the cars involved in the accident.
When the race resumed, pole sitter Cale Gale got past Elliott for third on the restart. Six laps later, Donnie Wilson followed suit and worked his way past Elliott for fourth.
Chase gave his first report to crew chief Ricky Turner on lap 26, saying, “I need to turn the center better to be faster. It’s a little too tight, but it’s not bad
On lap 37, Elliott avoided a crash when Cale Gale made contact with the lapped machine of Eddie Hoffman. Hoffman spun to the top of the track in turn one, and Elliott had to cut hard to the left to avoid hitting him and Gale.
The race restarted on lap 42, which began a 97 lap green flag run. During this green flag run, Elliott and Ross Kenseth provided the best action on the track as they battled nose to tail and side by side for over sixty laps for the fourth spot. The two teenagers raced each other hard, but clean, and provided great action for the race fans in attendance. Kenseth finally came away with the position on lap 132.
Four laps later, Chase Elliott radioed to crew chief Ricky Turner about his car. “I am so tight in the center I cannot do anything right now.” Elliott was aided by a caution flag three laps later that allowed him to bring his Aaron’s Ford Fusion into the pits to the attention of the Aaron’s Dream Machine pit crew. The Ricky Turner led crew gave Elliott four fresh tires
and fuel, along with a chassis adjustment and got him back out on the track in third spot, gaining two valuable positions in the pits.
On lap 156, Elliott was able to get past Lonnie Sommerville for the second spot. However, Justin Wakefield would take the second position away forty laps later. Ross Kenseth then got to the bumper of Elliott and yet again the two teen drivers battled nose to tail for over 25 laps before Kenseth was able to get ahead of Elliott on lap 248.
A caution on lap 252 allowed Elliott to bring the Aaron’s Dream Machine to pit road for the final time of the day. Elliott requested four fresh tires and a drink of water before pulling into the pits. The Aaron’s Pit Crew pulled off a lightning stop sending the Lucky Dog machine out of the pits in first place, after he came in running fourth.
Chase’s father and spotter, Bill Elliott, congratulated the crew over the radio by saying, “Good stop guys! Excellent stop!” The restart on lap 258 saw Elliott on the point for the first time of the day with Jeff Fultz in second, Boris Jurkovic third, Donnie Wilson fourth, and Ross Kenseth fifth. Wilson had worked his way up to second, but saw his hopes of victory come to an end when his engine expired on lap 263, bringing out yet another yellow.
The restart on lap 268 saw a familiar duo up front as Elliott and Kenseth battled side by side for the lead for four laps until Elliott was able to clear him on the backstretch on lap 272. Elliott was able to drive away at the front of the field while Kenseth and Justin Wakefield battled it out for second behind him.
The battle for second got a little too aggressive on lap 289 when Kenseth and Wakefield made contact, causing Kenseth to spin in turn one, bringing out the final yellow flag of the day. During the pre-race drivers meeting, it was made clear that the final ten laps would be run under green, so the caution laps for cleanup did not count. This set the stage for a ten lap dash to the finish to decide the winner of the 27th annual World Crown 300.
When the green flag waved for the final ten lap shootout, Elliott’s Aaron’s Ford Fusion hit the chip with no power. With only seven cars on the lead lap, Elliott fell back to the 7th position with several lap down cars in between. This allowed Justin Wakefield to race by and grab the lead. Wakefield held on to claim the checkers over Ross Kenseth, Jeff Fultz,
Lonnie Sommerville, and Paul Kelley. However, post race inspection found Kenseth to have a carburetor infraction, which disqualified him, and moved everyone up one position. This made Chase Elliott the official fifth place finisher.
“We had a good car in qualifying and we started the race really tight,” said Elliott after the race. “Then we got to the end and we got it freed up enough to where it would go, but we really did not need that last caution.”
“Something went wrong,” continued Elliott in regards to the last restart. “I don’t know if it was hung in gear or what. I took it out of gear and put it back in gear and then it started going again. I don’t know what happened there but we will just have to go through everything and go down to Pensacola and do our best down there.”
Chase Elliott’s next event will be the Snowball Derby Weekend in Pensacola, Florida the first weekend in December. Elliott plans to compete in both the Pro Late Model portion and the Super Late Model portion of the event.
To find out more about Chase Elliott, be sure to visit www.chaseelliott.com.
- Bill Elliott Racing Press Release
Article Tags: BER, Bill Elliott Racing, Chase Elliott, Gresham (Ga.) Motorsports Park, No. 9 Aaron's Ford Fusion, Snowball Derby, World Crown 300
