Rewind to April 26 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, which was the site of Elliott’s last K&N Pro Series East race. The 16-year-old Elliottearned a second-place result at the .75-mile track, finishing just .011 seconds behind winner Brett Moffitt in a green-white-checkered flag drag-race to the end. Elliott’s runner-up effort was the best of his K&N Pro Series East career, and he enters the Iowa race weekend ranked first in the 2012 championship standings.

“Richmond was a blast,” Elliott said. “I just wish we could have had those extra few inches it took to win it. But at the same time, there was a lot to be proud of when we walked out of the tunnel that night. Everyone on this Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com team has been working really hard, and I know we are capable of getting into Victory Lane soon.”

Elliott will line up for the 150-lap K&N Pro Series East-West combination event at Iowa on Saturday, May 19 at 8 p.m. ET. The race will broadcast on SPEED Thursday, May 31 at 3 p.m.

In this K&N event last year, Elliott started 15^th and struggled for track position because the first 43 laps involved five caution periods. A late-race pit road mishap cost Elliott positions. At the restart, he was 18^th. He worked his way back through the field during the remainder of the race. Elliott finished 11^th and was credited with seventh-place K&N Pro Series East points.

Elliott, who has posted four top-five finishes, nine top-10s and led 40 laps in 15 career K&N Pro Series East starts, appreciates racing at these Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series companion tracks. He sees it as an opportunity for him to gain more experience as a driver that’s looking to eventually compete at both those levels.

“Racing at all of these (NASCAR) Cup and Nationwide tracks such as Bristol (Tenn.), Richmond (Va.) and Iowa are really helping me learn things about these bigger tracks,” said Elliott, who has tallied three top-10 finishes in three K&N Pro Series East starts this season. “I have always enjoyed racing at Iowa. There were some things that I picked up on last year during the race that I hope will help us out when it comes race time this weekend.”

Elliott will participate in the K&N Pro Series East autograph session at Iowa Speedway on May 19 from 3-3:45 p.m. local time. For race weekend updates, please follow Cindy Elliott on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cindyelliott9.

It didn’t take Chase Elliott long to figure out the primary objective on Bowman Gray Stadium’s tight-and-tiny quarter-mile track when he raced there for the first time last year.

“I learned to stay outside the football field,” said Elliott, a 16-year-old high-school sophomore from Dawsonville, Ga., whose father is Bill Elliott, a former Sprint Cup champion. “It doesn’t take much to wind up off the track and in there. This place is small, and it’s different. With these big stock cars with minimal grip, it’s a challenge to race around this place.”

Elliott finished 18th in his first Bowman Gray attempt, which came in the debut of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at the track. A battery malfunction cost him several laps, and he’ll try again — this time as the series’ points leader — when the tour returns June 2 to Bowman Gray.

Elliott was among several drivers who participated in Thursday’s practice session at the track.

“I think all the drivers learned a lot last year on how to race each other here, and just how much give-and-take you have to have during the race,” Elliott said. “I think coming back this year everybody, including myself, will have a better idea of how to race.”

Bill Elliott fields cars for his son in conjunction with Hendrick Motorsports, and last year’s visit to Bowman Gray Stadium was also a first for him.

“It’s neat to be here,” he said. “This place has a lot of history to it, but it’s hard for these cars to race here. To me, this is more of a Modified track. These cars are heavier, have narrower tires, and the Modified cars have a lower center of gravity and can jump to the outside. I’m not saying it’s a perfect world, but they’ve got more of an ability to do that than with these cars.

“I never ran a lot of places like this when I was growing up before (Sprint Cup), like a lot of these kids. It’s a good learning experience for them.”

Chase Elliott began racing when he was 13 in an asphalt series in Georgia. He has won several Late Model races since but is seeking his first victory in the K&N Series.

Although his son leads in the standings, by four points over Ben Kennedy heading into a May 19 race at Iowa Speedway, Bill Elliott said the immediate aim for Chase is not so much to win races but to develop and prepare for something bigger.

“It’s about experience,” Bill Elliott said. “You pick things up now to put in your logbook for later in your career. You learn how to race. It’s a building block to get to where you want to be.”

Chase Elliott will have to wait awhile for that. He’s soaking up as much as he can. The K&N Series is designed for that.

“It’s a great opportunity for these guys, to run different places and understand them,” Bill Elliott said. “There will be something here that he can pick up that’s going to help him somewhere else, whether it be a short track or a road course. These experiences just make you a better racer.”

Chase Elliott said: “In some ways what you learn here is for here only. I haven’t raced on a smaller track than any other car. But I remember when race time came last year this place was absolutely packed. As a racer, it’s so cool to race in front of so many people. I do enjoy running here because it’s so different, but racing here it’s so difficult to stay off the guy next to you and not cause any problems. I guess that in itself is a learning experience.”

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.

Elliott will return to Gresham this weekend to race in the 100-lap super late model event on Saturday, May 12.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to have some really solid late model races at Gresham,” Elliott said. “I believe the reason why is because the Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com team has really worked hard to improve our No. 9 Chevrolets and not just go from one race to the next. This hard work and dedication gives us that competitive edge because we strive to get better each race weekend.”

Elliott has competed in 11 late model events at Gresham in the past three years. He has posted three wins, seven top-five finishes, eight top-10s and also earned three pole positions at the half-mile track. So far this season, the 16-year-old Elliott has earned four wins and seven top-10 finishes in seven late model events.

Most noteworthy this weekend is Mother’s Day on May 13. Elliott’s mother Cindy has played an important role in Elliott’s racing career from the day it started. As a young child, Elliott spent as much time as he could in the garage with his father Bill early on, while Cindy continued to show her son other sports like baseball and golf.

“I do have some ideas for Mother’s Day, so I’m definitely looking forward to it,” Elliott said. “My mom has always and continues to be really supportive of my racing career. It may not have been her first choice on the list for me to do with my career and my life, but she’s supportive of it for sure.”

At the conclusion of late model qualifying that starts at 6:30 p.m. local time on May 12, Elliott will participate in an autograph session on the track before the event starts.

For race updates, please follow @cindyelliott9 on Twitter.

Published May 03, 2012                           Speed                                                                                                                                                                                            

A quick glance at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers reminds us how long it has been since a young, promising talent has emerged on the scene.

Joey Logano was the last one to come into the Cup Series highly anticipated, although with expectations he hasn’t lived up to. I don’t think that necessarily is his fault, though. It’s a combination of factors.

But the bigger problem is where will the next, fresh blood come from?

It didn’t come from Reed Sorenson or Casey Atwood, both of whom never lived up to the expectations that were hung on them when they first arrived, and to some degree, Casey Mears. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Logano has struggled since he stepped into a Cup car. He is on the hot seat this season and could lose his ride at the end of the year.

I look at these guys and wonder why they failed. Logano was supposed to be the next NASCAR superstar to break all the records, but he hasn’t come close to even getting that effort off of the ground. Logano was moved up too quickly and didn’t prove himself in the Nationwide Series long enough. Sure, he won several races and broke the record for the youngest to win at that level, but he also had the benefit of superior equipment.

For young kids, the advantage of the best equipment actually can be a detriment down the road. I’ve seen a lot of young drivers go out to their local short track and kick everyone’s ass because Daddy puts lots of money in their racing program. But oftentimes, they’re only up against one or two truly competitive cars each weekend. “My kid’s a superstar,” these parents tell themselves and their kid, puffing that child up and making him feel like he’s on the top of the world … until he reaches the national level.

Things are just different in Trucks, Nationwide and the Cup Series, so young drivers need to be prepared for what lies ahead. I’m not suggesting we put them in crappy cars and turn them loose to race, but I do question if some are developing confidence that they shouldn’t, because it’s really more car than driver. Some are showing great promise but under false pretenses.

Part of the responsibility lies with the racing community as a whole. I’d like to see NASCAR mandate these guys run the NASCAR Camping World Truck or Nationwide Series for three or four years before moving up to Cup. We might see less high-profile disappointments this way. Guys like Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth won a lot of races in Nationwide before moving up to Cup, and they weren’t 20 or 21 years old like so many of today’s drivers.

The young age of many of today’s “next superstars” also factors into the equation. The pressures of Cup racing on a driver are tremendous. They’ve got sponsors, fans and team owners bearing down on them all the time demanding performance and PR savvy. Oh, and by the way, they are expected to make the Chase and keep their names in the headlines. That is too much to ask most 21 year olds, especially when they’re trying to learn on the fly how to race with some of the world’s best drivers.

A background in short-track racing and dirt-track racing is crucial, and I think divisions like the K&N Pro Series East are crucial. If you saw the K&N race from Richmond on SPEED two weeks ago, you know what I’m talking about. Those kids got after it, and I couldn’t have been more impressed with Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney. Sure, they’re both in good equipment and have fathers who are Cup Series drivers (a past champion in Elliott’s case), but they’re not being brought up too fast. Dave Blaney is one of the best dirt racers ever, and he is bringing Ryan up through the ranks at a slow and steady pace. Martin Truex Jr. seems to be doing the same with his little brother, Ryan.

NASCAR is going in the right direction with the K&N Pro Series because it teaches drivers how to race a full-bodied car and race door-to-door with each other. The Dillon boys honed some of their skills in this division, so they were ready when it came time to move to ARCA and the Truck Series.

Austin or Ty Dillon could be the next superstar. So could James Buescher or Ricky Stenhouse Jr. But most concerning to me isn’t who of the current full-time NASCAR drivers the sport will hang its hat on next; what worries me most is who it will be after them. If we keep moving kids up through the ranks too fast and without enough experience, we may have no one to choose from in a few years. And that would be the biggest letdown of all.

Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/05/03/spencer-where-will-come-from/#ixzz1tvY0XYaK

By Charlie Leffler

Published: May 01, 2012

NASCAR came to Richmond International Raceway last week, needing something to boost dissatisfaction with the sport. After back-to-back Sprint Cup races with long green flag runs and no wrecks, commentators and fans alike expected the desire sparks to fly and collisions to combine on the ¾ mile D-oval at RIR.

Those wreck-mongers surely came away disappointed as the Capital City 400 followed in the trend of it’s predecessors as a remarkably clean race.

Instead, what the fans and drivers saw were three consecutive days of great racing, drama at the finish and history being made.

The most controversial action on the track came in the first race of the weekend as Brett Moffitt battled his way past Chase Elliott and Corey LaJoie to win the Blue Ox 100 K&N Pro Series East race.

Moffitt edged Elliott by one one-hundredth of a second and LaJoie by two-tenths of a second.

It was a finish that held the attention of Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart. Even with his participation in the Short Track Showdown looming, Stewart was not about to miss the ending. He informed race organizers he wasn’t about to go to his Late Model car until he saw the finish of the K&N race.

Stewart’s enjoyment of the event was repeatedly reiterated by his fellow Sprint Cup drivers throughout the following day.

“The K&N race was awesome,” said Kevin Harivck.

Jimmie Johnson concurred. “Last night’s K&N Series race had me on the edge of my seat,” he said. “I was thoroughly impressed with the racing that took place.”
Though Carl Edwards did not see the race live, he stopped his own session with the press when highlights came up on a monitor in the media center. “Is this last night’s race on the (television)?” he asked. “I heard it was a good finish. I haven’t seen it yet.”

The quality of racing did not ease up in the Thursday night cap. The Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown brought a running battle between Stewart and Jeff Burton before “Smoke” edged out local drivers Greg Edwards (Poquoson) Brandon Butler (Sutherland) for the win.

On Friday, veteran Sprint Cup driver Mark Martin used the pair of races to emphasize his viewpoint on the current NASCAR point system. “I saw some great racing last night,” he said. “I don’t care about no Late Model stock points or K&N points. I saw two great races! That’s all I care about.”

For RIR President Dennis Bickmeier, it was a PR dream for the track. “Those guys, they see it from a different eye than we do,” he said. “It speaks well for the racing that we have here and why so many people refer to us as the action track.”

Friday night brought a completely different set of story lines as Kurt Busch, a driver looking for redemption in racing, won the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 Nationwide race.

Busch edged out local favorite Denny Hamlin by .062 seconds at the finish line- the closest margin of victory in a Nationwide race in the history of RIR.

“That finish Friday night, that was played everywhere,” Bickmeier said.

To add to the storyline, Kurt was behind the wheel of a car owned by Kyle Busch, giving Kurt’s younger brother his first victory as the owner.

On the RIR video tower, fans got to see a different side of Kyle, who has the most wins as a driver in Nationwide history. Now as an owner, he physically expressed his frustration watching Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin pull even with his brother in the final lap.

“I’m standing there on the pit wall I’ve got no control over what’s going on,” Kyle said. “All I could do was watch. I almost came on the radio and said something but I was no, no, no, that’s dumb.”

The post race celebration was a true family moment for the Busches. Kurt’s victory was his first in a Nationwide race at RIR; the same track where Kyle recorded his first win in the series. “It’s great to get to victory lane as a family,” Kurt said.

The historic marks continued to fall on Saturday in the Capital City 400 when Kyle found his way to victory lane as a driver. It was Kyle’s fourth consecutive spring race win in Richmond breaking a record that was held by ‘The King’ Richard Petty.

But in a race with no wrecks, the final 20 laps were a flip-to-that-channel, can’t miss for anyone watching on television. The NASCAR nation was on its feet watching as Dale Earnhardt Jr. closed in for the best chance to end his 138 race winless streak and find victory at RIR for the first time in six years. More dramatically, Junior was closing in on Busch, the driver who kept him from victory lane in 2008 when the two collided on the back stretch.

Proof that you don’t need wreck so deliver and RIR certainly provided some of the best NASCAR racing of the season so far.

This is Elliott’s second top-10 result in just two ARCA career starts. In his series debut on March 10, he led 22 laps and finished 10^th at Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway.

“It was a great learning experience that our Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com team can build on,” Elliott said. “We now have a better idea on how we can improve the No. 9 Chevy in the ARCA Series. And of course, I now have some more experience so I’m focused on becoming a stronger driver in the series.  With another ARCA race under our belt, there’s no reason we can’t win one of these races. I think we can do it.”

Elliott started Sunday’s event third, and consistently ran inside the top four early in the race. When the 200-lap event saw its third caution at Lap 78, crew chief Lance McGrew called Elliott into the pits for two tires. At the restart on Lap 88, Elliott was fourth.

Seven laps later, Elliott slammed on his brakes to avoid an incident that unfolded in front of him and the yellow flag was waved. Elliott received minor left front and nose damage to his No. 9 Chevrolet because he made contact with the No. 25 car of Brennan Poole in front of him. As a result, Elliott was forced to pit twice under the caution to avoid going a lap down. The Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com team worked quickly and successfully fixed the damage in those two stops and kept Elliott on the lead lap. On the restart at Lap 101, Elliott was in the 13^th position.

An incident at Lap 133 brought out the race’s fifth caution, so Elliott came into the pits running 12^th for four tires. When the race resumed on Lap 140, Elliott had gained two positions after a quick pit stop and was 10^th on the restart. Six laps later, he was already up to seventh.

The 16-year-old Elliott maintained his seventh-place position as the event approached its end. With five laps to go, he battled his way through the field, passing three cars in just one lap to improve to fourth. When the checkered flag waved at Lap 200, he finished fourth.

Next up, Elliott will drive his No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet in the May 12 Super Late Model event at Gresham Motorsports Park.