Elliott goes for second straight win at Chicago

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In: Xfinity Series News

After winning three races in his rookie season last year, defending NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott was still searching for his first victory of 2015 before last Friday night’s race at Richmond.

The 19-year-old Chevrolet driver came through, capturing the checkered flag to snap a 39-race winless streak.

“It was an epic night for us,” Elliott said. “I thought the NAPA AUTO PARTS crew was absolutely phenomenal on pit road and really gave us the chance we needed to get to Victory Lane. I just wanted to stick around and enjoy it, because you never know when you’ll be back (to Victory Lane).”

Elliott has a quick turnaround as he goes for his second straight win in Saturday’s Furious 7 300 at Chicagoland Speedway (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN).

In three career starts at the 1.5-mile track, Elliott has finished first (June 2014), 10th (September 2014) and 14th (June 2015).

“Chicago is a fun track with a lot of particular elements,” Elliott said. “We didn’t run all that well last time we were there and we as an organization have to improve on that. With a few races left in the season, there can’t be any hiccups. We’ll review our notes from the past three times we’ve been there and be prepared for when it counts Saturday night.”

Although Elliott leads the XFINITY Series with 20 top-10 finishes and ranks second to Chris Buescher with 10 top-five showings, he sits second in the championship points standings – 21 points behind Buescher.

Buescher has built his lead by winning two races and posting an average finish of 8.3. The 22-year-old Texan has finished no lower than 20th this season.

Elliott’s No. 9 car crew chief, Ernie Cope, remarked his team will take an aggressive approach down the stretch in an attempt to capture its second consecutive XFINITY Series crown.

“We’re just going to say ‘hammer down’ the rest of the season. We talked about it after (finishing 24th) at Darlington. Forget about it. We’re going to try winning races. However it falls is how it’s going to fall. We’re just going to be aggressive. We’re going to be aggressive with setups, pit calls, everything we do.

NASCAR Wire Service
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