Pursue Elliott
Pursue Elliott
( 1995-11-28 ) November 28, one thousand nine hundred ninety five (age 21)
two thousand thirteen All American four hundred Winner
two thousand fifteen Snowball Derby Winner [1]
He won the two thousand fourteen NASCAR Nationwide Series championship, becoming the very first rookie to win a national series championship in NASCAR.
On November 23, 2015, Elliott was named the two thousand fifteen NASCAR Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver for the 2nd year in a row.
Contents
Early career and brief track racing Edit
Elliott raced in forty races in various series in 2010, winning twelve events over the course of the year and completing in the top ten thirty eight times. [Trio] It was the third season of his racing career, and he won the Blizzard Series, Miller Lite and Gulf Coast championship en route to being named the Georgia Asphalt Pro Late Model Series Rookie of the Year. [Trio] He ended the season by winning the Winchester 400. [Trio] Sports Illustrated named Elliott as the high school player of the week in April 2011. [Trio] During the year, he competed in the Champ Racing Association, winning the series’ National Super Late Model championship. [Four] Later that year, just after his sixteenth bday, he won the Snowball Derby and became the race’s youngest winner. [Five] He strike the 2nd place driver, DJ Vanderley, by a record 0.229 seconds. [6] In 2012, he won the Alan Turner Snowflake 100, prelude to the Snowball Derby, for the 2nd time in three years. [7]
In November 2013, Elliott won the All American 400, becoming the very first driver to win all four of the country’s largest short-track races: the All American 400, the Snowball Derby, the World Crown three hundred and the Winchester 400. [8] In December, it appeared as tho’ Elliott had become the very first driver to sweep the Snowball Derby and Snowflake one hundred in the same weekend. Upon post-race inspection, however, a chunk of tungsten was found in Elliott’s car, which was prohibited by the Derby rulebook. Elliott was accordingly disqualified and the victory awarded to Erik Jones. [9] Elliott won the Snowball Derby in two thousand fifteen after initial winner Christopher Bell was disqualified. [1]
Stock car touring series Edit
Elliott signed a three-year driver development contract with Hendrick Motorsports in February 2011. [Three] [Ten] He competed in the K&N Pro Series East in two thousand eleven with number 9, completing 9th in season points. [Four] Elliott returned to the K&N Pro Series East in 2012, [Four] winning his very first career race in the series at Iowa Speedway in May. [11] He finished fourth in series points.
In two thousand eleven and 2012, Elliott competed in three K&N Pro Series West races (once in 2011, twice in 2012), all at Phoenix International Raceway. In his lone two thousand eleven event, he finished third, and in the two thousand twelve races, he finished 17th (due to a crash) and fourth. [12]
Elliott competed in six ARCA Racing Series races in two thousand twelve and five races in two thousand thirteen with number 9, in order to build up practice at larger circuits. ARCA permits 17-year old drivers to race at Pocono Raceway and Kentucky Speedway, two circuits where NASCAR has a minimum age of Legitimate; the minimum age for ovals longer than Two,000 meters, or 1.25 miles, is eighteen years of age; shorter tracks and road courses have a minimum age of 16.. [13] On June 8, 2013, Elliott became the youngest winner in ARCA superspeedway history following his Pocono victory. [14]
NASCAR national series Edit
Camping World Truck Series Edit
In January 2013, it was announced that Elliott would challenge in nine NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events for Hendrick Motorsports during the two thousand thirteen racing season, using trucks ready by Turner Scott Motorsports. [13]
In qualifying for the UNOH two hundred at Bristol Motor Speedway, Elliott won his very first career NASCAR pole position with a lap speed of 125.183 mph (201.463 km/h), and became the youngest pole-sitter in Truck Series history. [15]
Elliott would win his very first race in the Chevrolet Silverado two hundred fifty at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, in the very first road course truck race outside the US; he was at the time the youngest winner in Truck Series history, at the age of seventeen years, nine months, and four days. [16] [N 1] The win was however controversial as Elliott made contact with leader Ty Dillon in the last corner. Dillon hit the tire barrier while Elliott went into the grass however recovered enough to be able to coast to the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Chad Hackenbracht. [Legal]
Dillon afterwards stated that the next time they raced each other “he won’t finish the race”; [Legal] later Elliott stated he had attempted to apologize to Dillon but without any response. [Nineteen] The following week at Iowa Speedway, Elliott cut down a tire early in the race and crashed without involvement from Dillon. [20]
In October 2016, Elliott entered the Alpha Energy Solutions two hundred at Martinsville Speedway, his very first truck race since 2013, driving the #71 for Contreras Motorsports, leasing owners points and the truck chassis from JR Motorsports. [21]
Xfinity Series Edit
In January 2014, it was announced that Elliott would be contesting full-time in the Nationwide Series in 2014, driving the No. Nine Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, with sponsorship from NAPA Auto Parts. [22] On April Four, 2014, Elliott won the O’Reilly Auto Parts three hundred at Texas Motor Speedway, holding Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch off after taking the lead with sixteen laps to go. [23] On April 11, 2014, Elliott won the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero two hundred at Darlington Raceway by passing Elliott Sadler on the last lap after restarting sixth with two laps to go. [24] Elliott won the EnjoyIllinois.com three hundred at Chicagoland Speedway after holding off Trevor Bayne. [25] At Phoenix, Elliott clinched the Nationwide Series championship with a 53-point lead over teammate Regan Smith, becoming the very first rookie and youngest driver to win a NASCAR national series title. [26] Later in the year, he was named the Nationwide Series’ Most Popular Driver. [27]
In 2015, Elliott received his very first DNF in his career after being involved in the 2nd big one at Daytona, ending 28th. On September 11, Elliott won his very first race of the season at Richmond, snapping his 36-race winless streak. He battled with Chris Buescher for the championship, but was incapable to catch up and finished 2nd in points.
With Elliott moving up to the Sprint Cup Series, he commenced driving the No. Eighty eight car part-time in the Xfinity Series.
Monster Energy Cup Series Edit
On January 29, 2015, Hendrick Motorsports announced Elliott would make his Sprint Cup Series debut in 2015, driving the No. Twenty five with Kenny Francis as squad chief. He was scheduled to race in five races at Martinsville, Richmond, Charlotte, Indianapolis, and Darlington. The team also announced that he will take over Jeff Gordon’s No. Twenty four commencing in 2016. [27]
Elliott’s Cup debut in the STP five hundred was threatened by potential rain; due to a lack of holder’s points and race attempts, had qualifying been rained out, he would have failed to qualify. Elliott eventually recorded a lap speed of 96.919 mph (155.976 km/h), qualifying 27th. [28] During the race, contact with Brett Moffitt on lap seventy five coerced his car to drop debris onto the track and harm to suspend from its rear, while his power steering was bruised. Pulling down to 37th, Elliott entered the garage, and returned to the race on lap 144, sixty nine laps behind the leader and in last. Elliott would ultimately finish 38th, seventy three laps down. [29] On May Five, it was announced that Elliott would be coming in the Sprint All-Star Race’s Sprint Showdown. [30] He finished 8th and 5th in the event’s two segments. [31]
2016 Edit
Elliott joined the Sprint Cup Series full-time in 2016, driving the No. Twenty four with Alan Gustafson as squad chief. [27] Elliott carried primary sponsorship from NAPA (twenty-four races), [32] 3M (five races), [33] SunEnergy1 (four races), [34] Kelley Blue Book (two races), [35] and Mountain Dew (two races). [36] He won the two thousand sixteen Rookie of the Year over Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Jeffrey Earnhardt, and Brian Scott. [37]
In his Daytona five hundred debut, Elliott won the pole with a speed of 196.314 miles per hour (315.937 km/h). At the age of 20, he became the youngest pole-sitter in five hundred history. [38] Elliott led three laps in the race, but on lap Eighteen, spun exiting turn four and slipped into the grass, hurting the front of the car. Elliott returned to the race on lap 59, forty laps down, and finished 37th. [39] The next week he finished 8th at Atlanta for his very first Sprint Cup top-ten finish. The following week, at Las Vegas, Elliott showcased a strong car all day and even had his car inwards the top-five with forty laps to go, but crashed and finished 38th. Elliott picked up more top ems during the spring, ending 5th at Texas for his very first career Top-5, 4th at Bristol, 5th at Talladega, 9th at Kansas, 3rd at Dover, 8th in the Coca-Cola 600, and a career best 2nd at Michigan. [40] At Pocono for the running of the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400, Elliott would have his breakout race of his Sprint Cup career, Elliott would commence 13th and later get the lead in the race and he would lead a race high of fifty one laps, leading the most laps in a Sprint Cup race for the very first time in his career. On a restart Elliott would lose the lead and then race came down close to fuel but the fuel would hold and he would finish 4th. At Michigan in June, Elliott finished 2nd after he missed a shift in the lead. He won the fan vote to advance into the All-Star Race along with Danica Patrick where he finished a respectable 7th after almost winning the final segment of the Sprint Showdown, losing to Kyle Larson in a photo finish. Fifteen races into his rookie season he sits 6th in the standings, the highest without a victory, with two poles for the Daytona five hundred and at Talladega, six Top-5’s and eleven Top-10’s. Two weeks later at Sonoma, Elliott embarked 16th, but would ultimately finish 21st. He was one of the very first rookies to qualify for the Pursue along with Chris Buescher since Denny Hamlin in 2006. On September Eighteen, at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, he had a chance at his very first win but a late caution wiped out his 3-second lead over Martin Truex Jr. who would go on to win the race while Elliott would finish in 3rd.
2017 Edit
Elliott embarked the two thousand seventeen season by winning the pole for the Daytona five hundred for the 2nd year in a row. [41] He followed it up with a win in the very first Can-Am Duel race, becoming the very first driver since Dale Earnhardt in one thousand nine hundred ninety six to win both the Daytona five hundred pole and a qualifying race and the third in NASCAR history (Davey Allison is the very first after doing so in 1990). [42]
2018 Edit
On August 29, 2017, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Elliott will be switching from the No. Twenty four to drive the No. Nine in 2018, the number that his father drove during most of his racing career, and also Pursue’s number via the lower tiers of NASCAR Racing. [43] [44]
Television and film appearances Edit
Elliott has made appearances on television, including CMT’s The Dude Ideal Demonstrate [45] and MTV’s Ridiculousness. [46] He voices the character Mark Set-Go on Nickelodeon’s Blaze and the Monster Machines [47] and Pursue Racelott in the two thousand seventeen Pixar film Cars Three. [48]
In 2017, Elliott served as a Fox NASCAR analyst for the Xfinity Series race at Atlanta. [49]
Magazines Edit
Elliott has appeared on the cover of magazines, including NASCAR Illustrated; [50] NASCAR Pole Position; [51] [52] and Georgia Magazine. [53]
Movie games Edit
Elliott is featured as a playable driver in Forza Motorsport 6, via the NASCAR expansion pack. [54] The expansion features twenty-four paint schemes from the two thousand sixteen Sprint Cup Series season, including Elliott’s No. Twenty four NAPA SS. [54] Elliott, along with Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch, provide commentary in the expansion as the “voices of motorsport.” [54] Elliott and Johnson also had roles in developing the expansion. [55]