Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Chase Elliott Closes ’09 with 7th in Snowball

Chase Elliott Closes ’09 Season with 7th Place Showing in Snowball Derby Contact: Amy Umlor, amy@chaseelliott.com DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (December 8, 2009) – Chase Elliott climbed into the No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine Ford for his final start of the 2009 season during Sunday’s 42nd annual Snowball Derby. Elliott, who turned 14 just a week before the year’s biggest Late Model race, qualified 10th, ran up front with the nation’s best drivers, and recorded an impressive seventh place finish in his first “Derby” attempt. The 300-lap Super Late Model race is considered by many as the “Daytona 500” of short track racing and attracts the best drivers from all across the country. This year the 37-car field included NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch – who went on to win the race, David Stremme and Steve Wallace, as well as Matt Kenseth’s son Ross. “The competition was tremendous, I learned so much this past week just being there, not to mention actually racing against these guys,” said Elliott. “Any one of them in the entire field was more than capable of winning and I am just thankful that the Aaron’s team was able to be a part of it all. “We’ve already decided that we have our work cut out for us next year,” he continued. “We need to take this Aaron’s team to the next level and we will start now working towards that goal. I still have a lot to learn about the cars, which will make me better at communicating with Ricky (Turner) and Jim (Barfield) about adjustments at the track, and our pit crew plans to start training aggressively as well. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Aaron’s and our entire team for a great first season. And the fans have been such a support as well, I just have to thank them too. “ The second-generation driver made it a double header weekend with a start in Saturday’s Allen Turner Snowflake 100 Pro Late Model race. Elliott started 15th and survived a wreck-fest to finish 12th. Elliott’s top-ten run at Pensacola, Florida’s Five Flags Speedway put the final touches on an already impressive rookie resume. In 31 combined Pro and Super Late Model starts this season, Elliott recorded four wins, 13 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes. Of those seven finishes outside of the top-10, three were DNF’s due to wrecks or mechanical failures. His worst actual finish was 18th in his first career Super Late Model start. Elliott scored his first win in only his seventh start during a Georgia Asphalt Series (GAS) race at his home track, Lanier National Speedway (Braselton, Ga.), becoming the youngest winner of a sanctioned Late Model race at Lanier and the youngest winner in the GAS series. He followed that up with another GAS win at Watermelon Capital Speedway (Cordele, Ga.) and went on to win the 2009 GAS championship and Rookie of the Year honors. Elliott made several starts in the now-defunct ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour and won the series’ final race at Anderson (S.C.) Motor Speedway in August, out-running some of the Southeast’s best drivers to score his first major win and become the youngest winner in the two-year series history. After making his first Super Late Model start in early August, Elliott broke through with a big win in the PASS South series at North Carolina’s famous Hickory Motor Speedway later that month. The rookie driver showcased his talent with a last-lap pass on Jeff Choquette and held off the more-experienced driver to take the win, also earning the honor as the youngest driver in the eight-year PASS series history. In August, Elliott also made his first start in the CRA Super Series at the Fairgrounds Speedway at Nashville (Tenn.), becoming the youngest driver to ever start a CRA race and the youngest to finish in the top-ten with a solid eighth place run. He followed that up with another eighth-place showing in the Winchester 400 and a fifth in the North-South Shootout, both CRA-sanctioned Super Late Model races. For the most up-to-date Chase Elliott news, including announcements about 2010, the official Chase Elliott Fan Club, his racing schedule and weekly podcast, please visit www.ChaseElliott.com. About Aaron’s: Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership stores offer customers access to high-quality furniture, appliances, electronics and computers for sale or as a lease-ownership arrangement. Customers have the option of buying their merchandise for an attractive cash price or opting to lease their merchandise for even greater flexibility. With a lease option, customers make modest monthly payments and have the immediate use of the items they need without waiting for credit checks or other delays. Plus, Aaron's will take care of delivery, setup, repairs, and more for the duration of a customer's lease. The Aaron's concept has proven to be successful for half a century; in fact, the very first Aaron's location opened in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1955. Aaron's is a leader in the sale and lease ownership of residential furniture, consumer electronics and home appliances, with more than 1,500 Company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states and Canada. The Company also manufactures an exclusive line of furniture, bedding and accessories at 10 facilities in four states. For more information, please visit shopaarons.com. About Bill Elliott Racing: In 2008, NASCAR legend Bill Elliott launched a Driver Development program as an extension of Bill Elliott Racing. Based on the principles of teamwork, strong work ethic and positive attitudes, the program aims to guide young drivers through the highs and lows of life in auto racing and to make them leaders on and off the track. Drivers will climb through the ranks of asphalt racing, starting in the Legends Racing Series and move up to Pro Late Model stock cars – including the Georgia Asphalt Series (GAS) and ASA Racing – and onto Super Late Models in series such as the Champion Racing Association (CRA) Super Series. From there they will progress to the ARCA RE/MAX and other series that are age and talent specific. To encourage strong communication and clear feedback, drivers will also intermittently run dirt Late Models that reinforce car control and a thorough understanding of the feel of the car. Please visit www.BillElliott.com for more information on the Bill Elliott Racing team and sponsors. ### CHASE ELLIOTT No. 9 Aaron’s Lucky Dog Dream Machine Ford Pro & Super Late Model Bill Elliott Racing 2009 RACE-BY-RACE RESULTS Date Venue Series Qual Start Finish 3/28 South Georgia Motorsports Park ASA/LMSS 7 7 6 4/4 Watermelon Capital Speedway GAS 4 4 7 4/11 Lanier National Speedway ASA/SAT 16 16 6 4/17 Anderson Motor Speedway GAS 4 2 3 4/18 Montgomery Motor Speedway SPLMS 4 4 2 4/25 Dillon Motor Speedway ASA/SAT 6 5 9 5/9 Lanier National Speedway GAS, SUPER 6 2 2 1 5/30 Lanier National Speedway GAS, SUPER 6 2 4 6 6/6 Watermelon Capital Speedway ASA/SAT 23 23 22 (DNF, wreck) 6/13 South Alabama Speedway Viper Series 5 2 3 6/27 Lanier National Speedway ASA/SAT 5 5 6 7/3 Lanier National Speedway GAS, SUPER 6 6 6 7 7/11 Orange County Speedway ASA/SAT 5 4 Rain Out 7/18 Watermelon Capital Speedway GAS 1 6 1 7/25 Montgomery Motor Speedway ASA/SAT 6 3 13 (DNF, wreck) 8/1 Lanier National Speedway GAS, SUPER 6 4 1 3 8/7 Five Flags Speedway Blizzard Series 12 12 18 * 8/8 Anderson Motor Speedway ASA/SAT 2 8 1 8/15 Lanier National Speedway GAS, SUPER 6 5 5 2 8/23 Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway CRA 14 13 8 * 8/29 Hickory Motor Speedway PASS 2 4 1 * 9/5 Lanier National Speedway GAS, SUPER 6 5 5 2 9/7 Winchester Speedway CRA 12 12 15 * 9/12 Lanier National Speedway GAS/ASA/SAT 1 4 3 ** 9/25 Five Flags Speedway Blizzard Series 3 3 21 * (DNF, engine) 10/9 Five Flags Speedway Night of Champions 3 3 3 10/10 Montgomery Motor Speedway Show me the Money III 2 2 6 10/18 Winchester Speedway CRA 6 6 8 * 11/5-7 Concord Speedway CRA / N-S Shootout 12 14 5 * 11/13-15 Gresham Motorsports Park World Crown 1 *** 1 13 12/6 Five Flags Speedway Snowflake 100 15 15 12 12/7 Five Flags Speedway Snowball Derby 10 10 7 * ASA/LMSS = ASA Late Model Series South GAS = Georgia Asphalt Series ASA/SAT = ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour SPLMS = Southern Pro Late Model Series SUPER 6 = Lanier National Speedway Super Six Series CRA = CRA Super Series PASS = Pro All Stars Series South * Super Late Model start ** Non-points event *** Track record

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