Catchfence

Chase Elliott couldn’t have picked a more appropriate place than historic Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway to make his NASCAR debut and to run his first race under the Hendrick Motorsports banner.

The second-generation racer from Dawsonville, Ga., raced in a NASCAR sanctioned event for the first time as well in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East circuit’s season-opening Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 on Saturday at Greenville-Pickens. That half-mile oval has a rich racing heritage and has crowned champions including David Pearson and the late Ralph Earnhardt since it opened for the first race in July, 1946, with the help of promoter Bill France. From 1951 to 1971 the track hosted 29 races for the series now known as Sprint Cup.

The 15-year-old Elliott, who became the youngest driver ever to start a race in the K&N Pro Series East, was an immediate hit with the Greenville-Pickens fans, and the line of people seeking his autograph stretched into Turn Four and stayed strong until the session was ended so the race could get under way.

On the track, Elliott spent much of the day and night getting his No. 9 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet up to speed after starting 26th, but never gave up as he worked his way diligently passed 22 cars to wind up finishing
fourth.

Elliott’s day got off to a somewhat slow start. He was 20th fastest on the speed chart during the first practice. He said his car was “too tight on entry and through the center, but it’s got good bite up off.”

The HendrickCars.com / Aaron’s team made quite a few adjustments in the front end of the car between the first and final practice. At the conclusion of final practice the car was still a bit tight but much better. He moved up to 13th fastest in final practice, with some drivers on new tires and others on old ones, but there was more work to be done.

“We’ve got to be better,” Elliott said. Elliott qualified at 85.531 mile per hour, a significant improvement from
his best practice speed, but it left him with a 26th-place starting position in a race that saw 12 rookies make their series debut.

The 150-lap race started out with a lengthy green-flag run. By Lap 29 Elliott had made his way up to 21st, and he radioed to his crew chief Ricky Turner: “It’s coming to me Ricky.” Toward the end of the opening run Elliott was running hard, his brake rotors glowing red, as he worked to stay in front of race leader Brett Moffitt. Elliott caught a break on Lap 39 when a caution came out for debris, and he immediately started cooling his brakes.

Asked about his car, Elliott responded: “It’s tight in the center just a little, but I want to feel it out.”

The yellow flag at Lap 39 started a string of cautions that lasted until Lap 62. Elliott hovered around 20th place, unable to make a move on the short runs, most of them five laps or fewer.

On Lap 71 a car spun just in front of Elliott in Turn 2, bringing out yet another yellow. Turner decided to bring the car down pit road to make a wedge adjustment to free up the car.

Elliott remained around the 20th position until Lap 97 when he was involved in a spin in Turn Two, a trouble spot all night.
Elliott appeared to have only minor cosmetic damage to his car but made a pit stop to be sure. During the stop, the crew adjusted the air pressures of the right-side tires and sent Elliott on his way.

Elliott restarted in 22nd place on Lap 101 and moved to 16th over the next six laps.

From there, the charge was on as Elliott began to drive the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet toward the front. During the next short green-flag run Elliott, muscled his way up to 13th place.

With 23 laps to go Elliott passed D.J. Shaw for eighth place and continued his drive toward the top five.

Next in line was Max Gresham, a two-time winner in the K&N Pro East Series in 2010, and Elliott passed him for seventh place just before another caution flew.

Elliott worked his way by Drive for Diversity driver Sergio Pena for sixth place with 15 laps to go, and three laps later another caution flew. With seven laps to go Elliott drove by defending race winner Darrell Wallace Jr. for fifth. On the final lap Elliott secured a fourth-place finish by passing Matt DiBenedetto, who debuted in the Nationwide series in
2010, in Turns Three and Four.

“The weekend wasn’t quite what we wanted it to be,” Elliott said. “But it ended up being a pretty good night for the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.”

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to the track for the South Boston 150 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway on Saturday, April 16.

- >Chase Elliott Racing Press Release