San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Hometown Atlanta win still eludes accomplished Elliott
HAMPTON, Ga. — Chase Elliott has accomplished so much in his young racing career.
A NASCAR championship. Most popular driver awards. Fifteen Cup victories at all types of tracks.
But one thing is missing.
A home win.
The 26-year-old Dawsonville native returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday still looking to take the checkered flag at the place where his father Bill established the family’s fame and young Chase learned the ropes.
“It’s always nice to race close to home,” Elliott said. “It’s nice to go home at night, sleep in my own bed.”
Even better than a restful night would be the chance to celebrate in victory lane in front of a home-state crowd.
The 2020 series champion already has a pair of wins this season and leads the point standings heading into the second race of the season on Atlanta’s 1.54-mile trioval.
In a wild year that produced 13 different winners over the first half of the 36-race marathon and has seemingly made it impossible to sustain any level of success, Elliott has been solid just about every time he starts the engine.
But Atlanta Motor Speedway has always been a bit of a conundrum for Elliott, whose father won five times at the track — albeit in an
era before several renovations produced an entirely different layout.
Chase has come up short in eight Cup races at the high-speed track, managing just a single top-five showing.
“We’ve had one really good run, I would say, and the rest are just kind of mediocre,” Elliott said. “I would love to check that box. It would be super special to me.”
Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet will lead the field at the start of Sunday’s 260-lap race. As the series leader, he claimed the pole position when heavy storms washed out qualifying.
The forecast for race day was iffy, as well, with a significant chance of thunderstorms throughout the afternoon.
Kligerman holds on for Truck win
Part-time driver Parker Kligerman held off points leader Zane Smith to win the NASCAR
Truck Series race at MidOhio Sports Car Course on Saturday.
Kligerman led 56 of the 67 laps on the 2.258-mile circuit, winning by 0.119 seconds.