CONCORD, N.C. -- With the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Chase Elliott brought his rookie NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season to a close.
With the help of the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS team, Elliott claimed 10 top-five finishes and 17 top-10s. He also won two pole positions, made the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and also took home the 2016 Rookie of the Year honors.
"I'm very proud to have been in the running this year," Elliott said. "It was a lot of fun. I'm proud of the group of guys we have, they're the ones that made it happen at the end of the day."
Elliott's teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., said he was impressed with the 21-year-old's performance in a race car and with a team that did very well during the 2015 season.
"Chase took the opportunity and took advantage of some great race cars and got some great finishes," Earnhardt said. "I'm looking forward to him having a lot more success. He'll be a lot of fun to pull for through the years, he's going to be around for a while."
Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick also chimed in on Elliott's debut season success.
"I can't believe how he ran with the veterans his first year, showing up at tracks he'd never been to before," Hendrick said. "He just did an unbelievable job, to have all the top-fives and top-10's he's had. That kid's going to win a lot of championships. We're real excited about him."
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