Kimberly Grace Bowman
|
|
That Much Closer: A Recap
June 14th, 2018
With still no win to speak of, Chase Elliott has managed to remain a constant for the 2018 season. His best finish so far coming at Richmond this past April. This isn’t the first time Elliott has had to settle for second, clocking in several second place finishes over the past few years including at the same track we just left behind…Michigan.
This time, Michigan did not fare as well for the driver of the #9 Chevrolet as he came across the finish line in 9th place. Phoenix and Talladega remain his next most successful tracks so far, serving him with a 3rd place finish at both tracks. Las Vegas has brought him the most bad luck so far with a 34th place finish, Daytona coming in right behind with a 33rd place finish. Elliott would also finish 29th at Bristol.
After a couple of successful top 10 finishes, Elliott’s stats began to tumble somewhat. Over the past few weeks, Elliott has been unable to crack the top 10, finishing 12th and 11th respectively. This week at Michigan, Elliott finally broke into the top 10 again with his 9th place finish.
The #9 was saddled with a few penalties over the course of the season so far. Texas and Phoenix both resulted in penalties, Texas because of a rear window not correctly in place and Phoenix because of a rear suspension violation.
Next up after the off week, the MENCS heads to Sonoma, a track Elliott has improved at over time. His first visit to Sonoma resulted in a 21st place finish. The following year, he managed to pull off a well-improved 8th place finish. Look for great things from the #9 team in the near future.
For the week of the off weekend, Chase Elliott is spending some well-deserved relaxation across the pond in Europe while the rest of us await a lone weekend of no MENCS racing before the series takes us to Sonoma.
Follow and chat with me here: @kimberlygrace__
Shop here now for new NASCAR gear!
June 14th, 2018
With still no win to speak of, Chase Elliott has managed to remain a constant for the 2018 season. His best finish so far coming at Richmond this past April. This isn’t the first time Elliott has had to settle for second, clocking in several second place finishes over the past few years including at the same track we just left behind…Michigan.
This time, Michigan did not fare as well for the driver of the #9 Chevrolet as he came across the finish line in 9th place. Phoenix and Talladega remain his next most successful tracks so far, serving him with a 3rd place finish at both tracks. Las Vegas has brought him the most bad luck so far with a 34th place finish, Daytona coming in right behind with a 33rd place finish. Elliott would also finish 29th at Bristol.
After a couple of successful top 10 finishes, Elliott’s stats began to tumble somewhat. Over the past few weeks, Elliott has been unable to crack the top 10, finishing 12th and 11th respectively. This week at Michigan, Elliott finally broke into the top 10 again with his 9th place finish.
The #9 was saddled with a few penalties over the course of the season so far. Texas and Phoenix both resulted in penalties, Texas because of a rear window not correctly in place and Phoenix because of a rear suspension violation.
Next up after the off week, the MENCS heads to Sonoma, a track Elliott has improved at over time. His first visit to Sonoma resulted in a 21st place finish. The following year, he managed to pull off a well-improved 8th place finish. Look for great things from the #9 team in the near future.
For the week of the off weekend, Chase Elliott is spending some well-deserved relaxation across the pond in Europe while the rest of us await a lone weekend of no MENCS racing before the series takes us to Sonoma.
Follow and chat with me here: @kimberlygrace__
Shop here now for new NASCAR gear!
|
|
The Clash
February 16, 2018
New year. New car. New number. Fresh slate. Lasting legacy.
Chase Elliott’s first official laps in the no. 9 were no less than impressive, waving a good solid hello and welcome to the 2018 season’s Speedweeks. Elliott began The Clash in a comfortable 10th position and quickly began gaining speed. By Lap 4, he had inched his way past 9th and was all the way to 2nd place by Lap 10. But that didn’t last long as he captured the lead that same lap. Leading the race was very comfortable for the third year racer until Lap 14 when Austin Dillon challenged him for the lead. By Lap 16, Chase had to settle for 3rd.
Meanwhile, I think The Clash provided us with a substantial amount of good racing. This week I noticed several fans were unhappy with the racing. You kidding me?! It was incredible! From lots of dicey and gutsy moves to near misses and great saves, The Clash, in my personal opinion, did not disappoint.
By Lap 19, Elliott regained first and kept it until Joey Logano managed to challenge him for the lead. Lap 24 resulted in his settling for 2nd amidst a battle with the 22, 78, and 11 up front. Elliott finished the first leg of the race in 3rd just in time for the scheduled caution. With right sides and fuel only, Elliott was ready to return to battle. The first and only penalty dealt out was to the no. 48 for passing through too many pit stalls upon entering pit road.
The second segment of The Clash was front row war for the no. 9 of Chase Elliott. Lap 30 found him in 2nd, 3rd, and then 2nd again all in the same lap thanks to a fine battle with the no. 12 of Ryan Blaney. But Elliott kept 2nd in his grasp until Lap 33 when he was hung out to dry, filtering back slowly to 8th. Again he worked his way back…a position per lap until Lap 35 brought out a caution for Jamie McMurray’s wreck. Elliott was in 5th at the time.
The final segment of the race did not fare well for the young driver, however. Although first was his at the start, he quickly found 4th with 35 laps to go. Eight laps later, Elliott found himself in 14th place and dropping. By the time the checkered flag was coming into view, Chase Elliott had fought his way back to 9th. But it wasn’t meant to be thanks to a last lap wreck that left him a little banged up and settled in the grassy Daytona fields as the checkered flag waved. He was not alone. Other cars involved in the wreck included the 48, 42, 18, 78, 41, and 95. Brad Keselowski walked away with the win despite the fortunate help of trash on his grille during the last leg of the race. Who knew that could actually help you out, eh?
Coming away from The Clash, I think one thing that intrigued me the most besides all the new colors and numbers gracing the track was pit stops. On record, the shortest pit stop was 16 seconds long. That is almost three to four seconds longer than your average swift servicing we are used to. This is, of course, partly due to the rule change that teams had to shorten their over-the-wall crew by one man. Will this be better for the teams going forward? Will the longer pit stops insert better strategy and techniques? That we will see.
The no. 9 of Chase Elliott won Can-Am Duel #2 and was in Victory Lane Thursday night.
Here’s to a great day of Daytona 500 racing on Sunday. Good luck, Chase! We know you’ll make that no. 9 proud.
Follow and chat with me here: @kimberlygrace__
February 16, 2018
New year. New car. New number. Fresh slate. Lasting legacy.
Chase Elliott’s first official laps in the no. 9 were no less than impressive, waving a good solid hello and welcome to the 2018 season’s Speedweeks. Elliott began The Clash in a comfortable 10th position and quickly began gaining speed. By Lap 4, he had inched his way past 9th and was all the way to 2nd place by Lap 10. But that didn’t last long as he captured the lead that same lap. Leading the race was very comfortable for the third year racer until Lap 14 when Austin Dillon challenged him for the lead. By Lap 16, Chase had to settle for 3rd.
Meanwhile, I think The Clash provided us with a substantial amount of good racing. This week I noticed several fans were unhappy with the racing. You kidding me?! It was incredible! From lots of dicey and gutsy moves to near misses and great saves, The Clash, in my personal opinion, did not disappoint.
By Lap 19, Elliott regained first and kept it until Joey Logano managed to challenge him for the lead. Lap 24 resulted in his settling for 2nd amidst a battle with the 22, 78, and 11 up front. Elliott finished the first leg of the race in 3rd just in time for the scheduled caution. With right sides and fuel only, Elliott was ready to return to battle. The first and only penalty dealt out was to the no. 48 for passing through too many pit stalls upon entering pit road.
The second segment of The Clash was front row war for the no. 9 of Chase Elliott. Lap 30 found him in 2nd, 3rd, and then 2nd again all in the same lap thanks to a fine battle with the no. 12 of Ryan Blaney. But Elliott kept 2nd in his grasp until Lap 33 when he was hung out to dry, filtering back slowly to 8th. Again he worked his way back…a position per lap until Lap 35 brought out a caution for Jamie McMurray’s wreck. Elliott was in 5th at the time.
The final segment of the race did not fare well for the young driver, however. Although first was his at the start, he quickly found 4th with 35 laps to go. Eight laps later, Elliott found himself in 14th place and dropping. By the time the checkered flag was coming into view, Chase Elliott had fought his way back to 9th. But it wasn’t meant to be thanks to a last lap wreck that left him a little banged up and settled in the grassy Daytona fields as the checkered flag waved. He was not alone. Other cars involved in the wreck included the 48, 42, 18, 78, 41, and 95. Brad Keselowski walked away with the win despite the fortunate help of trash on his grille during the last leg of the race. Who knew that could actually help you out, eh?
Coming away from The Clash, I think one thing that intrigued me the most besides all the new colors and numbers gracing the track was pit stops. On record, the shortest pit stop was 16 seconds long. That is almost three to four seconds longer than your average swift servicing we are used to. This is, of course, partly due to the rule change that teams had to shorten their over-the-wall crew by one man. Will this be better for the teams going forward? Will the longer pit stops insert better strategy and techniques? That we will see.
The no. 9 of Chase Elliott won Can-Am Duel #2 and was in Victory Lane Thursday night.
Here’s to a great day of Daytona 500 racing on Sunday. Good luck, Chase! We know you’ll make that no. 9 proud.
Follow and chat with me here: @kimberlygrace__
|
|
