Elliott wins super late model race at Gresham

JEFFERSON, Ga. – Chase Elliott did it again.

The 16-year old Elliott drove his No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet to Victory Lane for the second time this season at Gresham Motorsports Park after winning the Racing Radios 100 Super Late Model event on May 12.

“It means a lot to have won at Gresham this weekend,” Elliott said. “We have had a lot of struggles with the cars over there in the past, and I feel like we are taking some steps in the right direction to improve there. I've been very pleased with our late model season so far, but I think we can be better and need to improve for all of our upcoming races.”

After Saturday night’s win, Elliott now has five wins and seven top-10 finishes in just nine late model events so far this season. In the 12 late model events he’s run at Gresham over the past three years, he has posted four wins, eight top-five finishes, nine top-10s and also earned three pole positions at the half-mile track.

Elliott qualified third for the 100-lap event at Gresham, but subsequently started second after the field was inverted Saturday. Elliott consistently ran inside the top-four for the majority of the race as he paced himself and drove smart.

When the event reached Lap 83, Elliott moved into second after then leader Stephen Nasse suffered from car issues that brought out a caution. On the restart a lap later, Elliott’s teammate and the race’s new leader Ben Kennedy had jumped the restart. As a result, Kennedy was given a penalty so this moved Elliott into first. Moments later on Lap 85, an accident on the front stretch issued a red flag.

With 10 laps to go, Elliott’s lead over Bubba Pollard increased to half a second. Elliott held off Pollard to take the checkered flag for the second time this season at the half-mile track.

Next up, Elliott will drive his No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet in the May 19 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at Iowa Speedway. He will return to Gresham Motorsports Park for the Slack Auto 150 K&N Pro Series East race on June 9.