Early Season Rookie Success: Chase Elliott

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By Richard Tix

NASCAR heads into a bye week during Easter break but that doesn't mean we don't have anything to talk about. We just left Auto Club Speedway and had one heck of a race. The Auto Club 400 was one of the best races from start to finish of the year.

We also have started out with some amazing finishes in two of the five races (0.01 seconds). It has been one heck of a five race start to the 2016 season that will give momentum to NASCAR for the rest of the season. None of this is even mentioning the excitement and fireworks of post race twitter this past Sunday.

Photo: Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY

That's only scratching the surface because if we dig deeper past the on track product, past Jimmie Johnson's fast start, past all the penalties of the No. 78 team, we see the great rookie battle of Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.

Behind the Wall previewed this battle before the season even started by highlighting how good it could be and just like the aero package it has produced early and often.

The Auto Club 400 was arguably Chase Elliott's best run so far in the very early stages of 2016. If it wasn't for the late caution that was throw when Kyle Busch's tire went down, Chase would have easily finished with his first top 5 of his career and most likely even a top 3.

When the caution came out most of us watching Chase (fan or just follower) knew it might be bad news for his chance at the top 5. Not only would they have to make it through the late stop pit stop grind, but it also meant another restart. For the most part Elliott struggled all day on restarts so it was a tough break for the young rookie.

Even though he fell from the top 5, Chase Elliott still showed brilliant flashes on Sunday and put together another complete race (aside from some slow jumps on restarts). It was the second straight race where he ended with 100+ driver rating (101.0 last week and 105.1 this week at ACS).

In his last four races (everything but Daytona) he has finished 13th or better and now has three top 10's out of those four. Whats even better is that in those same three races he finished top 10 he also ran on average in the top 10 all race.

Photo: Jonathan Ferrey

He is running up with all the best drivers in NASCAR weekly and he has just started his career. Many drivers in the past 3-4 years have come in with a ton of hype but failed to produce right away, but Chase is starting on the right foot.

Chase was blessed with the opportunity to step into a high quality ride with Hendrick Motorsports right away, but it is still impressive to see what he is doing at a young age. It took 20 races in 2014 for Kyle Larson to get his third finish where he had an average running position in the top 10 (just for comparison).

It's obviously a small sliver of what will eventually become Chase Elliott's NASCAR career, but so far it has been a fun start and I am excited to watch the season long progression.

2016 NASCAR Driver Spotlight Preview: Chris Buescher

Chris Buescher 2016 Preview

By Richard Tix

It is a fresh start for Chris Buescher and the #34 Front Row Motorsports Team. Last year when David Ragan took the void left by Kyle Busches injury in the #18 it left FRM with replacement drivers. The news heading into the offseason, however, was that FRM had found its guy for the 2016 season.

That guy will be Cup rookie Chris Buesher. They also have a technical alliance with Roush Fenway Racing (which is who Chris is aligned with). He got his feet wet at the Cup level last season with 6 races under his belt. All 6 were in the same #34 car he will run full time in 2016. 

His best race of 2015 was actually his first race at Fontana when he finished 20th and had a positive pass difference of 7. Fontana was his only top 20, but he did have four top 25's in his six races, which isn't too bad as a part timer in the #34.

Looking past his short stint in 2015 as a Cup driver Chris was also the 2016 Xfinity Champion after winning 2 races, 11 top 5's, and 20 top 10's in 33 races. He also ran full time in 2014 at the Xfinity level (Nationwide at that time) and finished 7th in the standings with a win, 5 top 5's, and 14 top 10's. 

Bold Predictions/2016 Season Expectations:

• Chris Buescher could legitimately be a Rookie of the Year candidate which should be his goal. However, I have lower expectations for him. I see him finishing third in the ROY chase behind Elliott and Blaney. It isn't that he doesn't have a future, but Roush Fenway has been terrible the last few years and I don't see a huge turnaround even if they start taking a step in the right direction (RFR has an alliance with FRM). Plus, Elliott and Blaney have better rides/alliances on there side. I think working on a top 5 or two, 2-4 top 10's, and a good chunk of top 15's will be the first step in his career. If RFR ever gets it figured out, he could be a very good driver as soon as this season, even.

Previous Driver Spotlights

2016 NASCAR Driver Spotlight Preview: Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott 2016 Preview

By Richard Tix

Chase Elliott Career Paint Schemes

2016 NASCAR Rookie of the Year Battle

Normally the headline would be the Rookie of the Year battle between Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney (plus Buescher and Scott). However, Chase is filling big shoes in the same season as he will compete for the ROY award. After Jeff Gordon announced his retirement HMS also announced that Elliott would step into the #24's seat.

So, he will forever be linked with Jeff Gordon, which will always bring extra pressure. And all of this isn't even mentioning that he is the son of Awesome Bill from Dawsonville (Bill Elliott).

Boy, this should be a fun rookie season.

In 2014, Elliott got a 5 race head start to his rookie year in 2015 and had some promising moments. in those five races he had finishes of 16th, 18th, and 18th for three top 20's. His best race of the year might have been his second career Cup race, Richmond, where he ran 142 laps in the top 15 and finished 16th.

Bold Predictions/2016 Season Expectations:

• Anything less than a Rookie of the Year Award will be considered a disappointment for Elliott considering how much pressure might be on him. He is with a top tier team, he fills in for Jeff Gordon's retirement, and he will go head to head in a quality ROY class. I think he could surprise and be the first 2016 rookie to get a win this year (most likely the only one). 1 win, 4-5 top 5's, and 6-9 top 10's are all low numbers that he should be easily attainable (except maybe the trip to VL). 

Previous Driver Spotlights

2016 NASCAR Rookie of the Year Battle

Chase Elliott v Ryan Blaney

By Richard Tix

Elliott and Blaney. Two names known around the NASCAR world far before 2016 rookie of the year candidates Chase and Ryan came along. "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" or "Million Dollar Bill" are names known far an wide when you talk fans who have followed the sport for awhile now.

Dave Blaney didn't have the same type NASCAR career as Bill Elliott did, but he was a well known name and driver on the circuit. He was a very well known Sprint Car driver before getting his shot in NASCAR as a World of Outlaws Champion (1995). In 200 Dave Blaney ran for rookie of the year and finished 3rd (which his son Ryan should beat in 2016).

So, as most know both Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney will make there 2016 rookie campaigns after short stints in the past year (or two for Blaney) at the Cup level. Both have been successful in different ways at multiple levels of racing along the way. This upcoming year is shaping up to be a fun rookie race that hopefully pans out better than the 2014 race between Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson. One thing is for sure, the young talent is coming and coming fast.

Chase Elliott #24

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Year	Age	Races	Win	T5	T10	Pole	Laps	Led	Rank	AvFn
2015	19	5 of 36	0	0	0	0	1617	0		26.2
Total		5	0	0	0	0	1617	0		26.2
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Year	Age	Races	Win	T5	T10	Pole	Laps	Led	Rank	AvFn
2014	18	33 of 33	3	16	26	2	6037	390	1	8
2015	19	33 of 33	1	11	27	0	6006	236	2	8.9
Total		66	4	27	53	2	12043	626		8.5
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Year	Age	Races	Win	T5	T10	Pole	Laps	Led	Rank	AvFn
2013	17	9 of 22	1	5	7	1	1504	100	22	9.7
Total		9	1	5	7	1	1504	100		9.7

Chase ran an handful of Cup races in 2015 in the fifth Hendrick car (#25). In 2014 he won the Xfinity (was Nationwide at that time) Championship in just his first year in the series and followed that up with a runner up season in 2015. He has limited national seat time, but he has seemed ready since stepping into the JRM #9 in 2014. This upcoming year he moves into the hole left by Jeff Gordon and takes over the #24. It will be big shoes to fill and everyone with Hendrick and Chase will say he is not trying to fill them but create his own legacy, but reality is people will see the #24 and judge him based off Jeff. He will forever be linked with Gordon and also fellow rookie of the year candidate Ryan Blaney.

• 2016 Chase Elliott Preview
• Chase Elliott Career Paint Schemes

Ryan Blaney #21

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Year	Age	Races	Win	T5	T10	Pole	Laps	Led	Rank	AvFn
2014	20	2 of 36	0	0	0	0	457	15		24.5
2015	21	16 of 36	0	1	2	0	3622	5		25.3
Total		18	0	1	2	0	4079	20		25.2
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Year	Age	Races	Win	T5	T10	Pole	Laps	Led	Rank	AvFn
2012	18	13 of 33	0	1	7	0	2502	0		13.5
2013	19	3 of 33	1	1	3	0	650	96		6.7
2014	20	14 of 33	1	10	13	1	3072	207		5.8
2015	21	13 of 33	2	9	10	0	2401	403	22	9.6
Total		43	4	21	33	1	8625	706		9.3
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Year	Age	Races	Win	T5	T10	Pole	Laps	Led	Rank	AvFn
2012	18	9 of 22	1	2	5	0	1277	66	26	11.8
2013	19	22 of 22	1	8	13	2	3281	154	6	11.5
2014	20	22 of 22	1	12	17	2	3168	181	2	7.8
2015	21	5 of 23	1	4	5	1	794	95		3.2
Total		58	4	26	40	5	8520	496		9.4

Blaney finally gets to run a full time ride at the Cup level after running full time in zero series in 2015. Ryan has shown flashes of great things to come during partial seasons, even while in the #21 Wood Borthers ride (with Team Penske backing). It was awesome to hear Wood Brothers would be running full time again at the Cup level and even better that they will do it with such a young and talented driver. He has also run fantastic when given the chance in a Xfinity car (4 wins in the last three years despite running 14 or less races a season) and made his name a common won in the truck series in 2013 and 2014 (his only two full time seasons at any national level).

• 2016 Ryan Blaney Preview
• Ryan Blaney Career Paint Schemes