Iowa: Part Deux for Elliott and NAPA KNOW HOW Team

When the NASCAR Nationwide Series last visited Iowa Speedway 11 weeks and 10 races ago, there was more on the mind of NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Chase Elliott than just racing.

That was the weekend Elliott graduated high school. After practicing his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet in Iowa on Friday, he boarded a plane, flew home, graduated on Saturday morning, and flew back to Iowa in time to race the NAPA Chevy. He finished fourth on May 18 with no prior experience in a Nationwide car at the 7/8-mile speedway.

Now with high school in his rearview mirror, Elliott will return to Iowa looking to capitalize on his gained experience and successful result in May. Like before, Elliott enters the Iowa race as the Nationwide Series points leader, a position he lost after the Charlotte race (May 24) and regained two weeks ago following his victory at Chicagoland Speedway.

Despite the limited seat time at Iowa, the 18-year-old does know how to find victory lane there, as he won Iowa’s K&N Pro Series East race on May 19, 2012. Among three different series (K&N Pro, NASCAR Camping World Truck, and Nationwide) Elliott has six starts and four top-five finishes at Iowa Speedway.

Saturday’s U.S. Cellular 250 Nationwide race at the .875-mile Iowa Speedway kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and MRN/Sirius XM. In addition to his overall points lead, Elliott enters the weekend leading the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by 44 points over Ty Dillon.

JR Motorsports PR