DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Chase Elliott adds to his impressive road course resume by taking his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE to victory lane in the GoBowling 235 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) debut appearance at the 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course. The win is Elliott’s second points-paying victory and 13th top-10 finish of the 2020 season. It is his fourth career road course win and third in a row.
The victory, Chevrolet’s fourth triumph of the season, is the manufacturer’s 32nd road course win on tracks currently on the NCS tour and the 790th all-time win in NASCAR’s premier series. The win at the inaugural visit to the Daytona International Speedway Road Course is Elliott’s eighth career victory in 172 NASCAR Cup Series starts. Elliott, the youngest road course winner in NCS history, is now the sixth and most recent driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win three or more consecutive road course races.
The win is the 19th NCS road course triumph for Hendrick Motorsports, which was also celebrated by Elliott’s teammates Jimmie Johnson, who finished 4th in his No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, and William Byron, who was 8th in his No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE. Kaz Grala, who was the substitution driver for Austin Dillon after he tested positive for COVID-19, brought the No. 3 American Ethanol Camaro ZL1 1LE home in the 7th position in his NCS debut, giving Chevrolet four of the top-10 finishers.
Denny Hamlin (Toyota) was second, Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota) was third and Chris Buescher (Ford) rounded out the top-five finishers of the race.
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues with a doubleheader race weekend at Dover International Speedway with the Drydene 311 on Saturday, August 22, at 4:00 p.m. ET and the Drydene 311 on Sunday, August 23, at 4:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold app, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by today’s winner of the Go Bowling 235 at the Daytona road course, Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. I believe that’s three road wins in a row. Is it safe to say you’re becoming a fan of the road courses?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I've just had really good cars I think more than anything. I'm not sure I did anything very special today but had a really fast NAPA Camaro, which makes everybody's job a little easier from my end driving it, from Alan's end calling the race, and then from his end on adjusting, too. Really fortunate from that standpoint. Had a really nice week of preparation, came out and executed really good race. Really proud of the day. I think we have a lot to be proud of and showing up having a car like it needed to be, it doing what I wanted, and then to take that and get the result that I felt like we deserved.
Q. I don't know that you made a mistake today or at least it didn't look like it. I'm curious, did you expect it to go that smoothly at a track that you had never raced at before?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, it never goes smooth, or smooth in my eyes, at least. Yeah, I mean, obviously I look back and just ‑‑ we had that run there after the lightning break, and then I think the odds of it going green from there to the end, I think we all knew were pretty well slim to none. So, it was just a matter of when that caution was going to come out in my eyes and in my head. I had already accepted that long before it came out, and then to me the bigger question was not when but how many were going to be in a row, how many green‑white‑checkereds were you going to have to do in a row, and that's where as time goes on, just executing those is important, and the only way to get better at them is to be in those positions more often as a driver and for me personally, so really proud to be there today and to execute it like we needed to.
Q. I'm wondering, how does it feel to make history and win this race on this first road course here?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, any win at Daytona is special, and Alan and I were joking, he said we had to change it to a road case to win a race here at Daytona. That was his first win here. This is his home track, he's from down here, so I think that was really cool. Yeah, just a great day.
Obviously Watkins Glen has been good to us, but I was just really happy that we replaced a road course with a road course and didn't just pile something else on the schedule to check a box. I think there was a lot of effort into getting this road course done and completed in time, so appreciate Daytona and everybody that works in the facilities here to be able to turn it that fast, and did a really nice job with it.
Q. With the late restart there, did you have any Roval flashbacks like man, I can't do this again, I've got to do something different?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, I certainly didn't want to drive into the barrier in Turn 1, so yes, that crossed my mind: Don't do that.
Q. And you didn't, so you learned?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Learned. I finally learned something.
Q. Speaking of the last restart with three laps to go, were you expecting complete mayhem and maybe to get rooted out of the lead?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I had considered it a possibility for sure. You know, but at the same time, I think if you execute and do your part from the driver's side, you should be able to keep those opportunities from happening if you stay mistake free. Fortunately was able to get a good jump, had a good Turn 1, and then tried to just fall into rhythm there and just tried not to overdrive it. I thought Denny was being really aggressive on corner entry. I was not being as aggressive as him and was just focused in on my exits and trying to just control that gap to him, and yeah, fortunately it all worked out.
Q. Is there any sort of lesson with the car you can take from this road course and apply it to the oval since we're going to be coming back in two weeks?
CHASE ELLIOTT: No, unfortunately not. This is just a whole different animal, car, configuration, body, brakes, motor, you name it; nothing is really the same. This is just kind of a road course racing is a thing of its own and superspeedway racing is just not ‑‑ there's absolutely nothing you can take from today and apply it to the week after next.
Q. And since you're becoming ‑‑ you've grown to like road courses I presume, so do you think that this Daytona road course could find a permanent spot on the, quote‑unquote, normal schedule?
CHASE ELLIOTT: That's well above me. I don't know. I think you'd have to make ‑‑ those decisions are made with a lot of things in mind, and whether or not I like it isn't one of them. That's just part of it.
Q. How does it feel just to win again, to sort of end a little bit of a dry spell and some of the things this team has gone through here in the summer months?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, it feels really good. I mean, any time you can win in this series, I have learned and learned the hard way in some cases that you just can't take them for granted. They're just too hard to get, and it should be, and that makes the feeling of victory feel that much better because it is so hard. You just have to enjoy them. You never know if you'll ever get another one or what tomorrow brings. I don't take it for granted, and we just tried to make the most of a really good car today. You don't have cars like that all the time, so when you do, you really want to make the most of it and try to capitalize and just really fortunate that everything went our way and we executed and did everything on our end that we could control right and had the result that, like I said earlier, I thought we deserved.
Q. Is it also a major positive you beat one of the hottest drivers in the deal right now? Denny Hamlin week in and week out. Does that at least send a little bit of a message to those guys, we can be as good as you and we can beat you guys?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, I don't feel like we need to prove that to them, and we certainly don't need to prove that to ourselves. I think that when we have things going like we can and like we know how to do, I think we can run with whoever. I think we've proven that in the past, and that's not something that I need to sell myself on believing or sell my team. I think we're all on the same page there.
Q. About a year ago when you won the Watkins Glen race, you guys were coming off several tough weeks, and you said it was good to get a reminder that you guys had the pieces of the puzzle and everything in place, that if things went correctly that you could win as you got close to the playoffs. Do you hope that this win can sort of serve in the same capacity this season?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, I mean, the points you can't put a price tag on the six points we earned today for the playoffs, and that to me is the biggest piece of the puzzle for as far as a championship goes. Our performance on the ovals the past month have not been what they need to be to compete for the championship, and I think we all know that, so we're working really hard on doing that and getting better, and I think a day like today where we're able to come here, have a really fast car, get some of those bonus points, I don't want to say it bides us time, but having six more points than we would have had than if we hadn't have won today makes a big difference, and especially when you're fighting to run seventh and eighth at Michigan last weekend.
All that stuff matters, and as tight as it's going to be through these rounds and through this last 10, we needed all we could get, and those bonus points, they're irreplaceable. That has Denny and Kevin pretty well locked in to Phoenix, and that's a situation that we strive to be in each year, and those guys have put themselves in that position year and year, so it's certainly possible, and we want to do the same.
Q. You touched on the Michigan disappointment, I guess, from a few weeks ago. You head to Dover next weekend with two chances to win, and Dover has been historically a good track for you. Do you feel like there's any momentum that you can carry in? Obviously the tracks don't compare whatsoever, but do you feel like there's any moral momentum that goes into next weekend?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, for sure. I mean, any win is great, right, and it makes everybody feel good. We should enjoy this. We should enjoy today, tomorrow, and when we go back to work this week, obviously we'll put eyes on Dover, but there's been a lot of emphasis put into Dover and trying to improve, especially after a tough month. So yeah, until we get to the racetrack and kind of see where we stack up and get our report car, obviously we don't know, but yeah, winning, you can't ‑‑ there's nothing that replaces that. Like I say, I just think it makes everybody on our team feel like they deserve to feel. I think we have a winning group. I believe that, and there is no doubt in my mind about that, and we just have to have all the puzzle pieces going together to make that happen, just like anybody else does. But I think we have what it takes to run really good and compete with these guys week in and week out.
Q. Earlier this week you were talking about how you and your team really weren't able to keep up the momentum that you may have been able to gain from winning the All‑Star Race last month. Considering that and considering that you're back in Victory Lane today, how much of a point of emphasis is continued success from this going to be in the shop this week?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, I mean, we always want to do good. There's no speech that we hear when we have a bad day that makes us want to do better any more than we already do, and if we don't have that fire before you have a bad day, then we shouldn't be doing this, and I don't think that's the case for anybody on our team.
Q. Obviously with last year's win at the Roval and then this win here, two different types of courses, but a little bit of similarity. The Roval being an elimination race, does this give a little bit of confidence knowing that you can go back there with that success on both these style of racetracks and have that potential to move on?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I hope so. I mean, the Roval is obviously a long ways off. Everybody is going to get better from what they had today. Yeah, there's a lot of racing between now and the Roval we need to focus on. You know, a good run here I think gives us a good baseline of a few things we improved on. But it is a different track from Charlotte. That is a different animal I feel like, but some similarities, but certainly different, too.
Q. We heard a lot of drivers talking this week about the use of the simulators and iRacing. How much did that pay off in today's race?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, a little bit. I mean, I think we had some time on iRacing and time with Chevrolet this week. Appreciate Jordan Taylor and Boris Said reached out to me this week, and I feel like offered some really nice help that made a difference today, so really thankful for that. Like I said, just had a really nice week of preparation I felt like personally and spent the amount of time I felt I needed to in certain areas to try to fire off well, and it was just super ‑‑ yeah, feels really good to know when you put the work in certain areas you can come out and have a performance like that after you put in the right amount of time.
Q. I want to ask you, how big of a factor was the heat in the race, and during the lightning delay, were you able to cool down and rehydrate?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I think that lightning delay was pretty crucial for a lot of guys to get a breather. I mean, I was hot for sure. I think everyone was. I mean, it was a hot day. Mid‑afternoon in Daytona is not cool and probably never will be.
Q. Do you think NASCAR may need to make any improvements for this race when the Clash uses the road course in 2021?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I thought the track was fine. They have a ton of 24‑hour events that they've run here over the years, so I don't think they need to do anything. I thought it was all good, no worries.
Q. You mentioned that Arizona is the most important thing to come out of this season, and I'm right here in Dawsonville. What would you say growing up‑wise with Bill as your dad and just growing up in the pick‑your‑boot‑straps‑up‑and‑get‑it‑going in Dawsonville, what do you think it is about you that just provides that bulldog in you that focuses on the championship ahead?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I don't know, I think everybody is ‑‑ I'm sure a lot of people are proud of where they're from and that's certainly the case for me. You want to make your hometown proud and fortunate to still call it home, which is nice. But yeah, I don't know. I mean, I've been lucky to grow up in the racing world, and not just my dad, but I've had a lot of really nice, really great racing mentors I feel like to look up to over the years who handled themselves the right way in my eyes on and off the racetrack, and yeah, there's really no other thing to say other than I just got lucky with the people around me that I grew up around and had nice people and good people, good role models to look up to.
Q. This season we were supposed to use the low downforce package on the road courses, but of course for Daytona, being Daytona, we had the big spoiler for this race. What effect did that have on the racing today?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, good question. I don't know. I think about Watkins Glen in 2018, and I think about Watkins Glen in 2019 and it was pretty much the same race, so I'm not sure that it makes much of a difference. It seems like the good cars always find their way to the front. It might take them a little longer at certain tracks, but they tend to find their way back there whether we have an eight‑inch spoiler or two‑inch spoiler or no spoiler, so I'm just not sure that's an excuse we need to use anymore.
THE MODERATOR: Chase, thank you for your time today and congrats on the win again.ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 L1E PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by Alan Gustafson today, the race‑winning crew chief for the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. Alan, just talk to us about what you had to do to get that into Victory Lane today.
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, just obviously preparation in the shop is a big deal. Appreciate everybody at HMS Racing doing a great job and getting the car ready and in great position to go and try to win the race. So for us it was about executing, putting ourselves in position, and yeah, the car was great off the truck, and Chase is a phenomenal road racer and adapted really quickly, and it really went well for us today. Super happy about it.
Q. Chase has eight career wins now, four of them on road courses, two at Watkins Glen and two unique tracks at the Roval and on this one, which was new to everybody basically. You mentioned him as a road racer. What have you discovered in the races working with him that seems to make him adapt so well in these races?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: He's really good. I mean, he's just a very talented driver. With any good driver, they have the ability to slow things down, and when you're running a new track or running at the speeds they run they can slow it down to where it's slow and they can make the right decisions and adjustments, and he does a fabulous job of that. We knew really from the first time I worked with him at a road course, I knew he was really good and just needed some experience and needed to understand the cars.
I've mentioned this before, we went to a Watkins Glen test his rookie year and were able to find some things that he really liked in the cars, and ever since we've been able to improve on that.
Yeah, he's a tremendous talent. I think he's a world‑class race car driver, certainly a world‑class road racer, and just did an amazing job.
It's a daunting task I'm sure to come here and not know anything about driving the track. You can drive the simulators all you want, but still, to understand this tire and the grip it's going to have on this surface when it's 100 degrees outside and traffic is around you and all of the above is a very difficult thing to do. He did a great job, and yeah, a lot of kudos to him.
Q. I wondered if you could just compare a little bit if you remember the preparation that you did going into the first race at the Roval compared to what you had to do going into this race?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Well, the first Roval race we had a test, and I know there was ‑‑ I can't remember the exact sequence, but there was a few tests leading up to it, and there was split‑test days, and I know the first time we were there it was us and the 48, and they were changing configurations and bus stops and chicanes and just a lot of time at the Roval.
I think we were much more ready for the Roval and prepared. But really all ‑‑ I don't want to say all, that's not true. But a lot of that effort was able to be used for here, right, and we could use a lot of that information and apply a lot of that to this place. They're not distinctly different. They are different for sure, more the grip in the track than I think anything, but yeah, so the Roval there was tons of testing and tons of buildup to it, and we knew everything from the gearing to the braking to the handling on the car, and here you're making some pretty big assumptions on getting that all perfect.
Q. How does it feel to get the win at Daytona, considering it's been a track that's kind of eluded you from a points‑paying race perspective? Just describe how much determination he has on those road courses which has proven to be very successful to you guys as of late.
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, winning here at Daytona is a big deal. I think it's a big deal for everybody. Certainly a really big deal for me. I've been trying to do it for a long time and have been really, really close. The superspeedways are just ‑‑ there's just so much ran doneness or circumstantial things that go into that. It's tough, and we haven't been able to put all that together correctly. We've been really close but haven't been able to do it so it's nice to come here and win at the road course. I've come here since I was ‑‑ watched races on this road course since I was probably four years old. This is really where I started my racing here was more road racing than it was stock car racing.
It's cool for me, and yeah, again, his ability is amazing, and his record speaks for itself. He's the best guy in the series when we go and turn left and right. He does an incredible job, and he's just really good at it, and he's phenomenal.
It's nice to be able to come to a track and have the team support and then have the best driver on the grid climb into your car. It's an exciting thing.
Q. You win early, and it takes pressure off you in the playoff. Those late‑season wins kind of build momentum to the playoff, and how important are wins later in the regular season heading into the playoff?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, they're all important. I think you alluded to some of the particular things when you win early it's ‑‑ you know, you slot yourself in, obviously, and there's some value to that, and when you win late, then there's some value to that momentum.
We've all seen these races. We know that you're going to have to win and win often to be the champion. It's not going to be some situation where you're going to run fifth to tenth and make it. You're going to have to go and win and compete with the 11 and the 4 and those guys on a regular basis and win.
It's important for us to do that, and we've kind of ‑‑ our form slipped, obviously, the last couple months, and it's important for us to get our form back. This is obviously a step in the right direction. It's a very specific discipline of racing, but there's still a road course left, so yeah, it's good. Any time you win is good. The bonus points are good. The momentum is good. The morale is good. I've never found an ill effect of winning in my career.
Q. Alan, you mentioned the 11 and the 4. They're at the top of their games right now. Do you feel you're half a step behind those guys? Early in the season you seemed to have as much speed as they did, and now maybe ‑‑ or do you feel like it's just a matter of putting it together, you still have the speed, still have what it takes to run with those guys?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: No, at the beginning of the year I thought we were the best car for a significant part of the season. I mean, it could be my rose‑colored glasses but I certainly felt like we were in contention to win about every week. We've had some issues and slips since then, and those guys have got the upper hand on us and we don't have the pace to match them right now, and we can't consistently compete to win on all different configurations of tracks. There's certainly specific tracks that we're still really good at. Obviously Bristol and road courses. I think we'll have our chances, but I do think we've got to find some pace and some speed to match those guys when it comes to the Texases and Kansases and racetracks along those lines.
So we're working hard. I promise you there's nobody in the garage working as hard as Hendrick Motorsports is and the 9 team is to try to reel that back in, but those guys have got an upper hand on us, and I'm sure they did it by grinding hard and working hard, and kudos to them for doing it, but we've got to find something.
Q. Since I'm based in New York, how disappointed were you guys that you couldn't come to Watkins Glen this season? Chase did say it was good to replace one road course with another, but how disappointing is it that you couldn't make the annual trip to Watkins Glen?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I mean, it's ‑‑ I love Watkins Glen. I love the area. It's gorgeous country. It's in August. It's so good. It's so nice. You know, you still have reasonably cool nights and it's just lush and green and beautiful. I love the area. I love going there. I love the track. Man, it's a wicked road course. It's so fast and unique. Yeah, it's great.
I miss it, and I miss ‑‑ I really love the dedicated road course circuits like that that are ‑‑ you're like in the forest, you're out there kind of ‑‑ it's not a big concrete jungle. You kind of race through the trees and you're in a ‑‑ I don't know how to describe it. It just reminds me more of really truly dedicated road courses that I grew up on. So I love that part of it.
But if we're not going to be able to race there, this is a great place to come and race, and I think everybody was excited to get on this track. It's so prestigious and so many good people have raced here and won, so many legends of the sport.
You know, it's bittersweet. I would have loved to have been at Watkins Glen. I would have probably slept a lot better last night if we were going to Watkins Glen, but it was also a great challenge to come here. Daytona is my home. It's really what got me started in the sport. Any chance to come here and race is great, and certainly to win.
Q. You noted earlier that your career started in road racing. Do you think that has helped you as a crew chief set up cars for Chase especially?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I don't think it hurts. Yeah, I've always had a love for it. My best friends growing up still road race. They have a shop here and have raced at the highest level, in the 24 hours, and been very successful and won, and yeah, a lot of my roots are there.
Yeah, it's always been ‑‑ it's something I've really enjoyed and loved. Any time you enjoy something, it's a huge benefit. The cars we raced back then don't have anything to do with what we race now, but I think just embracing it, enjoying it and seeing the positive side of it, all that helps, and I've always enjoyed road racing and enjoyed the challenge. I think that certainly helps when it comes to having to go do it and execute it.
Q. You seemingly go from one strong suit to another here. Dover has historically been a great place for you and Chase. How significant will it be for you guys to go in there and get good runs on a double‑header weekend, and how much does a win today help to start the week on a positive note?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, it helps for sure, and you're right, Dover is another really strong track for us. Statistically it's certainly got to be one of the best that we run at. I'm looking forward to getting there. It's a lot of fun, too. It's certainly a different challenge and very unique.
Yeah, we need to be able to go and win there. We need to be able to contend to win. It's that time of year. There's just no ‑‑ we've got to be able to go everywhere and contend to win, and certainly we're going to go to Dover and give everything we can to put ourselves in position to win, and I'm looking forward to going there and seeing what we've got, and like I said, we're working hard to improve our oval track stuff. Certainly that's a little different configuration with the aero package, but yeah, we're pushing hard and we're excited to go. My expectation is we want to be able to go there and win.
Q. In regards to heading to Dover, this will be the third double‑header that we've had this season for a weekend. Is Dover going to be the biggest challenge as far as double headers? And second part of that, is there a little bit of chip on you guys' shoulders knowing that the last race you ran there you only completed eight laps?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think you've always got to have kind of a chip on your shoulder. You've got to find some way to motivate yourself and keep pushing yourself, and so yeah, we're ready to go.
Dover is going to be the most difficult double‑header on the equipment for sure, to run the cars there. That's a very violent track. I don't think that ‑‑ TV doesn't do it justice or watching the race doesn't do it justice. It's the loading and the bumps into 3 and the violence the car takes, all the components on the car. I mean, they are just getting punished lap after lap after lap after lap.
This is going to be the most difficult double‑header as far as equipment goes for sure. And yeah, the double headers are not easy. It's tight schedules and a lot of long hours. I guess if you're in the 4 at Rodney's place, it looked pretty easy last weekend, but it wasn't easy for us for sure.
Q. How have your guys handled those double headers?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Just a lot of hard work. You've got to prep the cars and you've got to have a good game plan on what you're going to switch out, how you're going to switch it out. From the time the race is over until the time the garage is closed until the time we put the car on the grid, it's nonstop. There's very few people there to support it, and you're trying to debrief, trying to get a game plan, and it's just a lot of work.
Q. Considering your previous sports car experience and the next‑gen car that's coming up with a lot of sports car elements with aluminum uprights, do you see the next‑gen car being more suited for road courses or possibly street circuits than the ovals like traditionally we've seen?
ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I'm curious, I think the car is more suited for road course racing and more suited for street course racing, and with the way the underbody is and the aerodynamic setup of the car, and it being symmetrical, I worried about it at Dover. I don't think it'll have any issue road racing. I think it'll be very V‑8 Supercar‑esque in my opinion. But when you go slam that thing around at Dover, the aluminum wheels and the rest of it is where that car is going to be put to a significant test, like I was saying earlier. There's nothing like Dover, period, that's it. There's no place in the world like that. There's no place that loads like that. There's nothing like that. It's a test for sure.
Q. Do you see with the wheels growing bigger, and I'm assuming the rotors are going to grow bigger and possibly bigger calipers, do you see that helping out.