LOUDON, N.H. – Chase Elliott will drive his No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 22.
Elliott still ranks third in the 2012 championship standings after rain canceled the K&N Pro Series East’s most recent event at Greenville Pickens Speedway in Easley, S.C. He sits 22 points behind leader Brett Moffitt.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway also will host the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this weekend so Elliott looks at it as the perfect opportunity for him to gain experience on a track he hopes to race at in the future.
“I’m sure the lines the Cup drivers use at New Hampshire will be something we look at when we get there and also for us to compare to how we’re doing things differently in the K&N Series,” Elliott said. “Obviously, we are on a different tire so things are going to be different.
“However, the biggest thing really is just to be racing at a racetrack that the Cup Series races at and to know if an opportunity does arise in the future, you will have some experience at that particular racetrack. That’s one thing the K&N Series allows you to do and that’s go to some of these bigger racetracks that the Cup Series races at as well.”
This Saturday’s 100-lap event will be broadcast on SPEED on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m. ET.
The Dawsonville, Ga., native has two previous starts at the 1.058-mile track. During his rookie K&N Pro Series season in 2011, Elliott scored a 10th-place finish there in July. Most recently in September 2011, Elliott was poised for a strong finish but unfortunately, rain shortened the event and the 16-year-old driver wound up finishing 11th when the race was called at Lap 78 of 100.
In 10 K&N Pro Series East starts this season, Elliott has posted one win, four top-five finishes and seven top-10s. He has led a total of 70 laps and won the pole once. Overall, Elliott has posted one win, one pole, eight top-five finishes and 14 top-10s in 24 career K&N Pro Series starts.
Elliott will participate in the K&N Pro Series East autograph session at New Hampshire on Sept. 22 from 9:15-9:45 a.m. local time at the fan midway outside of Turns 1 and 2. For race updates, please follow Cindy Elliott on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CindyElliott9 and Megan Whiteside at www.twitter.com/MeganWhiteside.
Now until Nov. 18, fans can submit their vote to help Chase Elliott win Most Popular Driver in the K&N Pro Series East for a second year in a row. To vote, please visit www.nascar.com/news/120817/2012-mpd-kn-east/index.html.
