Elliott, Poole showing improvement, consistency at season's mid-point

At the halfway point of the Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder Series, Chase Elliott and Trey Poole have shown improvement and consistency and are hoping to capitalize on their experience in the next five weeks. In week five of the ten-week series, Elliott was on his way to his first top-five before getting tangled with a lapped car and consequently being sent to the rear of the field for an 11th place finish in the No. 9 ABF Bandolero. Poole, driving with a new spring in the Aaron's Dream Machine, had a great handling car but could not escape a ninth-place finish, for the fourth week in a row.

Elliott spent much of his night avoiding trouble on the track. In his heat race, the 11- year-old was charging to the front when a competitor spun out in front of him on lap two. To avoid making contact, Elliott steered his ABF Bandolero into the grass and lost several positions. With only a handful of laps in the heat races, Elliott finished toward the rear of the field.

In the Zaxby's Bandits feature, Elliott started on the inside row in the 11th position. On lap two, Elliott once again had to steer to the outside to avoid a spin. The caution flag was not waived, but the resulting melee caused another wreck and this time, the caution came out. Once the race resumed, Elliott drove the ABF Bandolero up to sixth and was racing hard to the front with his eyes on the season's first top-five. Unfortunately his eyes were not on the lapped car in front of him, and Elliott made slight contact going into turn one that sent the 7 car of Alex Coffey around. The penalty for spinning another car is to restart at the end of the lead lap cars. With two laps to go, Elliott restarted in 11th and was not able to gain anymore positions on the track. Halfway through the season, Elliott sits eighth in points, 76 behind the current leader.

"It was a good night because I didn't wreck, but I didn't get a great finish either," says Elliott. "I'm really sorry about spinning out Alex Coffey; it was an accident, but I feel bad for doing it. And it sent me to the back for the last two laps, after running in fifth or sixth. I thought we were going to get our first top-five, but I had to restart 11th. All in all, it wasn't bad because we learned a lot of about the set up and I got more seat time that I need. I'm looking forward to getting better finishes in the last half of the season."

The Aaron's Dream Machine hit the Thunder Ring with a new, stiffer left front spring, and it made a difference on the track. After starting fifth in the heat race, 18-year-old Poole quickly picked up two positions. The leader and second place cars were fighting hard for the top position, and Poole settled for a third place finish.

Starting from the ninth place in the Fuddrucker's Semi-Pro feature, Poole was relieved to finally start on the inside row. On lap two, a wreck on the front stretch brought out the caution and eventually the race was red flagged for clean up. Following the single-file restart, Poole drove the Aaron's Dream Machine from ninth to sixth before slipping up and letting two cars under him in turn two. With two laps to go, one more car managed to get aroundPoole and, for the fourth week in a row, he brought home a ninth place finish. After five of ten weeks, Poole currently sits tenth in points, 87 behind the current leader.

"I'm beginning to feel cursed by that finishing position, but I can't complain about finishing in the top ten," says Poole. "I just want to move up, and now that the car feels better, I'm confident I can do that. All in all, the Aaron's Dream Machine had a good night, and I know there are more good finishes in store for us, we just have to find them."

Poole and Elliott return to Atlanta Motor Speedway for a special 4th of July celebration of the Thursday Thunder Series on Wednesday, July 4th. Hot laps begin at 5:00 pm and the first heat race begins at approximately 5:50 pm.

For more information about Chase Elliott and Trey Poole, including bio's, blogs and photos, please visit billelliott.com.

Bill Elliott Racing is also supported by associate sponsors Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame and the Dawsonville Pool Room.