Rookie Elliott needs win at Talladega
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[October 21, 2016]
The Sports Xchange
Staff Report, NASCAR Wire Service
Disbuted by The Sports Xchange
Positioned last on the Chase Grid, a
hefty 25 points below the cutoff line in the Chase for the NASCAR
Sprint Cup, Chase Elliott needs a win in the worst way.
The problem: He has never visited Victory Lane in a NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series race.
To advance in his quest for the championship, Elliott virtually must
earn his first win in Sunday's Hellmann's 500 at Talladega
Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN). The Sunoco Rookie of the Year
frontrunner finished fifth from the pole at the 2.66-mile behemoth
in his lone start there in May. Although Elliott hasn't won a race,
he's shown he's a contender every week and had near misses in both
Michigan races and at Pocono in June.
"We will just need to go and race our hearts out and try to win,"
Elliott said. "That's about all we can do."
In three career starts at restrictor-plate tracks, Elliott claims
his fifth-place finish at Talladega, as well as results of 37th and
32nd at Daytona International Speedway. He did win the NASCAR
XFINITY Series opener this season at Daytona.
Elliott does have a pedigree at Talladega. His father, NASCAR Hall
of Famer Bill Elliott, won there twice and holds the track records
for poles (8) and qualifying speed (212.809 MPH).
"Talladega is always known for close finishes and I'm excited to get
back," Elliott said. "The racing there, you can't really compare it
to anything else. Talladega is a special place because it's a
historic race track for our sport. I remember watching a lot of
races there. My dad still has that qualifying record and it's
obviously very impressive."
Additionally, Elliott's Hendrick Motorsports team is tied with
Richard Childress Racing for the Talladega wins record with 12.
He'll likely get advice from teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., who leads
active drivers with six wins at the South Alabama track.
"The best place to be at Talladega, as everybody knows, is to try to
be out front," Elliott said. "That is hard to sustain for a long
period of time in those races, but we've seen guys who have gotten
good at it over the past few years. They make it happen and are able
to control a race really well. I do think there is an art to it.
There are obviously a lot of things you can't control and running as
close as we do there, that is a big factor, but I do think there is
something that you can do better than others rather than just riding
around and hoping for the best."
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Hemric, Nemechek on verge of Chase elimination
Daniel Hemric and John Hunter Nemechek have plenty of work to do to
advance in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase.
The two drivers are each 15 points below the cutoff line heading
into the final race of the Chase's Round of 8 - Saturday's fred's
250 at Talladega Superspeedway (1 p.m. ET on FOX). If they cannot
make up the ground at Talladega, they will be dropped from the
championship hunt.
Hemric boasts five top-three finishes in his last six starts,
including two runner-up showings, but lost ground in the Chase with
his 28th-place performance at New Hampshire in that stretch. In his
lone start at Talladega last season, he placed 28th.
"I'm looking forward to going to Talladega Superspeedway, and I know
there's a lot on the line for this No. 19 team," Hemric said. "I
think we learned a lot for our superspeedway package from the third
truck we ran in Daytona with Austin Theriault, and hopefully that
transfers over to myself, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric. Having
an extra teammate to work with, especially given our current Chase
points situation, definitely won't hurt. We've got to utilize each
other to maximize our day and show what we can do together."
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Nemechek races for his family-owned single-car team NEMCO
Motorsports and does not have the same data advantage as Hemric. He
has earned two wins this season, but has dug his deficit with Chase
finishes of ninth at New Hampshire and 16th at Las Vegas. A
post-race penalty at New Hampshire for failing to meet the minimum
ride height docked him 10 points in the standings. Nemechek placed
11th at Talladega last year in his only start at the 2.66-mile
track.
"I'm looking forward to going to Talladega, my third superspeedway
race," Nemechek said. "And in the current position we're in for
points, I'm actually glad we're going to a superspeedway. Anything
can happen. So we just have to go out, execute, not make mistakes,
do the best that we can do, run up front and try to win the race.
Just try not to get caught up in any of the wrecks and be able to be
there at the end when it counts and have a shot at the win."
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Race Weekend Preview
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Race: Hellmann's 500
Place: Talladega Superspeedway
Date and Time: Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. ET
Tune-in: NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 500.8 miles (188 laps)
What to Watch For: Heading into Sunday's Hellmann's 500 cutoff race
at Talladega Superspeedway, Austin Dillon (ninth, tiebreaker), Denny
Hamlin (10th, -6 points below Joey Logano on the cutoff line), Brad
Keselowski (11th, -7) and Chase Elliott (12th, -25) are on the
outside looking in for advancement to the Round of 8. ... Kevin
Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski can break
their tie for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins lead by getting a
fifth victory. ... Non-Chasers who have won at Talladega who can
spoil an automatic Round of 8 qualifying spot with a victory are
Clint Bowyer (twice), Jamie McMurray (twice), Tony Stewart and David
Ragan. ... Spring Talladega winner Brad Keselowski goes for the
season sweep.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Race: fred's 250 powered by Coca-Cola
Place: Talladega Superspeedway
Date and Time: Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. ET
Tune-in: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 250.04 miles (94 laps)
What to Watch For: Timothy Peters goes for his third straight win at
Talladega. ... Timothy Peters (2014, 2015), Johnny Sauter (2013) and
Parker Kligerman (2012) are the only drivers in the field who have
won at Talladega. ... The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase
field cuts down from eight to six following Saturday's fred's 250.
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