TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
SEASON FINALE 500
PHOENIX RACEWAY
AVONDALE, ARIZONA
NOVEMBER 8, 2020

PHOENIX: SEASON FINALE
The Championship Four is set in NASCAR’s three national series and a trip to Phoenix Raceway will determine the 2020 NASCAR Champions. For the first time in NASCAR history, the 1-mile Arizona tri-oval will be the host of the season finale for the 2020 NASCAR season. The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Season Finale 500 will be the second appearance by NASCAR’s premier series at Phoenix Raceway this season and the 36th event on the schedule to close out the season. Of the four drivers locked into the Championship Four and the final round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Hendrick Motorsports and Team Chevy driver, Chase Elliott, will make his first-career appearance in the Championship Four and battle for his first NASCAR Cup Series Champion title.

Four events will be packed into three days of action at Phoenix Raceway, with the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (NGROTS) kicking off the championship weekend with the Lucas Oil 150 on Friday, November 6, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Saturday’s doubleheader will get underway with an appearance by the ARCA Menards Series’ Arizona Lottery 100 at 2:00 p.m. ET, followed by the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race, Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200, at 5:00 p.m. ET. The championship weekend and 2020 NASCAR season is capped off with the NASCAR Cup Series’ Season Finale 500 on Sunday, November 8, at 3:00 p.m. ET.

CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR
With nine races in the books for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, all eyes are on the final stop on the NASCAR schedule at Phoenix Raceway. The 2020 season came with a variety of ‘firsts’, which included a change of venue for the season finale as Phoenix Raceway takes over the host role. The 1-mile Arizona tri-oval is only the second track to host the NASCAR championship weekend since the implementation of the Playoffs into the series in 2004, joining Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Coming off of his first-career victory at Martinsville Speedway and fourth of the 2020 season, Hendrick Motorsports and Team Chevy’s, Chase Elliott, is among the four drivers left to compete for the title of the NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In just his fifth full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series, Elliott has earned a NASCAR Playoffs berth in each of the past five seasons.

Going into the Championship Four and Season Finale at Phoenix Raceway, let’s look back at Elliott’s 2020 season thus far, as well as key statistics in his 9-career NCS starts at Phoenix Raceway:

Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE
2020 NASCAR Cup Series Season:
Victories: 4 (Charlotte Motor Speedway, Daytona Road Course, Charlotte Road Course, Martinsville Speedway)
Top-Fives’: 14; Top-10’s: 21; Laps Led: 1,094; Average Finish: 12.00
Stage Wins: 10
At Phoenix: Top-Five’s: 2; Top-10’s: 5; Laps led: 249; Poles: 1; Average Finish: 13.0

Elliott’s NASCAR Cup Series Career:
Victories: 10 in 185-career NASCAR Cup Series starts
Top-five’s: 58; Top-10’s 95, Laps Led: 2,938, Average Finish: 13.5

GMS Racing has put on a stellar performance during the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoff run, securing three of the Championship Four spots. GMS Racing and Team Chevy’s, Sheldon Creed, piloted his No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado to his first-career NGROTS win at Kentucky Speedway this year, then adding three additional victories to his impressive 2020 season. GMS Racing teammate, Brett Moffitt, captured the victory at Kansas Speedway in his No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado, the first race of the Round of Eight, securing his position into the Championship Four. In his first full-time season in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, fellow GMS Racing teammate, Zane Smith, raced his way into the Championship Four by virtue of points. In his notable rookie season in the No. 21 Chevrolet Silverado, he scored his first-career victory at Michigan International Speedway, following it up with a second win on the season at Dover International Speedway just two weeks later.

Of the four drivers left to battle for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship, two of those spots are filled by Team Chevy drivers: Justin Allgaier and Justin Haley. JR Motorsports’ winningest driver, Justin Allgaier, drove his No. 7 Camaro SS to three victories thus far this season. In his fifth season with JR Motorsports, the 2020 season marks the fourth trip to the Championship Four in the past five seasons. In just his second full-time season in the series, Kaulig Racing’s, Justin Haley, will have his first-career opportunity to compete for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship. Haley captured his first win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega Superspeedway in June 2020. He went on to later win at Daytona International Speedway and became a back-to-back winner at Talladega, making it three consecutive superspeedway wins in his No. 11 Camaro SS.

Heading into the Season Finale at Phoenix Raceway, here is where Chevrolet sits in the Manufacturer Points Standings for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series:

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
1. Chevrolet: 1,155 points
2. Ford: 1,126 points
3. Toyota: 1,069 points

NASCAR GANDER RV & OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES
1. Chevrolet: 787 points
2. Toyota: 780 points
3. Ford: 770 points

BOWTIE BULLETS:
· Victories by current Team Chevy drivers at Phoenix Raceway include:
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, has four wins (November 2009, April and November 2008, November 2007)
Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, has one win (April 2005)
Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Credit One Bank Camaro ZL1 1LE, has two wins (November 2002 and November 2017)

· Phoenix Raceway has been the host of 48 NASCAR Cup Series events, with Chevrolet topping all manufacturers with 23 trips to victory lane. Of those triumphs, there was a streak of 10-in-a-row from the November 2005 event through the April 2010 event. In addition, Chevrolet has captured 18 Busch Pole Award’s, 110 top-five’s, 217 top-10’s and led 6,075 laps.

· In NASCAR’s three national series, Chevrolet has won the following Manufacturers and Drivers Championships:
NASCAR Cup Series: 39 Manufacturers Championships; 31 Driver’s Championships
NASCAR Xfinity Series: 21 Manufacturers Championships; 21 Driver’s Championships
NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series: 9 Manufacturers Championships: 13 Driver’s Championships

· Of the 13 different organizations that have captured a victory at Phoenix Raceway, Chevrolet team, Hendrick Motorsports, leads the way with 10.

· Going into his final race of his full-time NASCAR Cup Series career, Jimmie Johnson needs just one more win to tie Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for fifth on the all-time victory list with 84.

JIMMIE JOHNSON’S FINAL RIDE
This weekend’s event marks the final race of Jimmie Johnson’s full-time NASCAR Cup Series career. The Career Chevrolet driver has left a lasting legacy in NASCAR’s premier series and the record book proves just that. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion shares the record for the most NCS championships, tying Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is the only driver in NASCAR history to win five consecutive titles (2006-2010). With 83-career victories in NASCAR’s premier series, he ties Cale Yarborough for sixth on the all-time win list and is the top among active drivers. Through 20 seasons and 685-career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, Johnson has captured 231 top-five’s, 373 top-10’s and has led 18,937 laps.

STARTING LINE-UP:
For the remainder of the 2020 NCS season, the starting lineups will be determined by a competition-based formula, combining the following metrics from the previous race event: 15% of a fastest lap time position, 25% of the driver’s final race finish position, 25% of the owner’s final race position and 35% of the Owner points position. Coming off of his recent win at Martinsville Speedway, Chase Elliott will lead the field to the green from the pole position in his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE.

Here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters for Sunday’s Season Finale 500:

1st Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE
6th Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Truck Hero Camaro ZL1 1LE
7th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE
16th Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Credit One Bank Camaro ZL1 1LE
18th Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW Camaro ZL1 1LE
20th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE

TUNE-IN:
NBC will telecast the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 8th, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the 312-mile, 312-lap event to determine the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion can also be found on the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 2nd IN STANDINGS
“I’m still kind of wrapping my head around everything, I feel like. I’ve never been in this position before, so I think myself, much like a lot of people around me are kind of learning this together. For me, I’m just taking it a day at a time and just enjoying the moment. I’ve been saying that a lot lately, and I think it’s really important to do that. I’ve heard my dad say that over the years that he wished he enjoyed certain moments more and didn’t just run through them. So I’m just trying to enjoy it. This is a big opportunity – it’s not an easy thing to make the final four, it’s not something you should ever take for granted, may not ever be here again, so I recognize that and I recognize that we have a very solid team. As the No. 9 team in general, I think we are very capable of going and contending this weekend and I believe that and I think we just have to make the most of a great opportunity and enjoy it and try to thrive in the moment and hope for the best.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/TRUCK HERO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 6th IN STANDINGS
“It is a bummer to not be going for a championship this weekend at my home track, but we have nothing to be disappointed in. This No. 88 team has worked their butts off all season, but especially these last 12 or 13 weeks. We have had great Chevrolet Camaros each and every week and it shows. I think people saw us as a wildcard throughout the playoffs and it was our goal to show everyone that we deserved to be here.”

“Going home to Arizona is always special and to see Phoenix Raceway get the Championship race is great. Phoenix is one of those tracks where I feel like we have just had some bad luck. The 2016 race is still a race where we look back and know that we could have gotten the win there. This 88 team has been working hard on our cars both at the track and the shop, so I know we are going to unload a fast Chevrolet on Sunday. Winning at my home track would be a great ending to this crazy season. Being so close in 2016 was tough, but this team never gives up.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 10th IN STANDINGS
PHOENIX RACEWAY SERVES AS THE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE THIS SEASON, TAKING OVER THE FINALE FROM HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
“It’s hard to recreate what Homestead-Miami Speedway has been able to do for our championship race the last couple of years, so Phoenix Raceway has a lot to live up to, but I feel like it being a short track and a place where guys can get to each other, it should be a good race and I’m excited to see what it can deliver. Martinsville definitely did not disappoint from a fan perspective, so I feel like everyone tuning in will be able to experience a good race. I personally like racing at Phoenix Raceway. We had a really fast car at Phoenix in the Spring but ended up crashing out early with a cut tire. Still, we were able to gather a little bit of a notebook and I think we will be fast this weekend so that we can finish our season off strong.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 13th IN STANDINGS
BYRON ON THE SEASON FINALE BEING AT PHOENIX RACEWAY:
“It’s going to be a lot different I feel like finishing the season in Phoenix instead of Homestead. Phoenix put on a good race the last time we were there this spring. Between the PJ1 and the low downforce, I think it was a really good recipe for good racing. I envision it being about the same when we go back this weekend. Intensity will be high with the championship four battling it out, but hopefully we can go out there and be the ‘best of the rest’ and take the win. That would be a lot of fun to end the season that way.”

BYRON ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOENIX RACEWAY:
“While it’s a mile in length, Phoenix really races more like a short trac. With the way you use the brakes and how much you are on and off the throttle, it really has the rhythm of a short track. It has long straightaways but then short track-like corners. It does have higher speeds though which is characteristic of a bigger track including the downforce aspect.”

CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE
KNAUS ON HIS FINAL RACE AS A CREW CHIEF:
“I don’t know that it has really set in just yet that this will be my final race as a crew chief. Honestly, I’ve been trying to keep myself really busy. Every time I think about it I start to get pretty sad, so I’ve been staying as busy as I can. I’m sure that when we get to the end of the race Sunday that it’s going to be a tough moment for me and for my brother Jimmie (Johnson). Obviously, it’s going to be tough to walk away from this full time on the crew chief level. It will ultimately be a good thing. It’s a good opportunity for me and it’s a great opportunity for the No. 24 team and for Rudy (Fugle) to really get started on their future.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 I AM SECOND CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 19th IN STANDINGS
“Phoenix Raceway was a bit of a surprise for me this year. It’s a track I still find really tricky to figure out, but my team worked hard all throughout that weekend to really dial in the handling of our No. 8 I Am Second Chevrolet, and it paid off for the race. The traction compound that weekend worked really well to open up another groove on the track surface, so I’m hoping that has the same effect this time around. We’re going back there with the same set-up since it ran so well, so I’m optimistic that we can have another really good run there this weekend. It would be great to put together a solid race to close out our season on a high note.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 39
First title for Chevrolet: 1958
Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Drivers Championships:
Total (1949-2019): 31
First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)
Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016

Event Victories:
Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2020 STATISTICS:
Wins: 8
Poles: 3
Laps Led: 2,237
Top-five finishes: 49
Top-10 finishes: 117

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:
Total Chevrolet race wins: 794 (1949 to date)
Poles won to date: 717
Laps led to date: 236,543
Top-five finishes to date: 4,063
Top-10 finishes to date: 8,399

Total NASCAR Cup wins by corporation, 1949 to date

General Motors: 1,128
Chevrolet: 794
Pontiac: 154
Oldsmobile: 115
Buick: 65

Ford: 804
Ford: 704
Mercury: 96
Lincoln: 4

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467
Dodge: 217
Plymouth: 191
Chrysler: 59

Toyota: 152

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
PHOENIX RACEWAY
SEASON FINALE 500
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
NOVEMBER 2, 2020

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed his preparation for his first Championship Four race at Phoenix, his mindset, the other competitors, his odds to win the title, and more. Full Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Chase, thanks for taking the time today.
Four wins on the season, including the must‑win race a week ago at Martinsville. For the first time in your career you are through to the Championship 4. What does it mean to break through to the next level and be one race away from a championship?
CHASE ELLIOTT: For sure, great opportunity for us, much like you mentioned, I think you might have said this before, just an area that we haven’t been to yet. The Round of 8 had kind of been that stopping point for us over the last few years. It feels really nice to move on, go and perform at the level I really feel confident we can do consistently this past weekend at Martinsville.
Great, great weekend, great team win, a big win and a timely win. It’s a great opportunity ahead. Just trying to do all the right things this week to be as prepared as possible for Sunday.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll start with questions.
Q. With this being your first time in the four, have you talked to anybody? If so, who, for any advice?
CHASE ELLIOTT: For me, I’m very lucky. My dad obviously has had great success over the years, has been around this deal for a long time. Obviously Jimmie is a great one to lean on, too.
For me, the big thing from talking to dad that I feel like he’s kind of mentioned is just enjoy these moments because these aren’t things you can take for granted. You don’t know when your last race win is. You don’t what tomorrow brings. Nothing’s guaranteed, right?
I think just enjoying these moments, trying to embrace them, especially after a race like Sunday, you wish you could just slow down time and enjoy that moment and make it last a little longer, but you can’t. You just have to enjoy ’em as much as you can, put emphasis on that.
I feel like that’s where I’m at right now, is not taking the situation for granted, knowing it’s not an easy thing, knowing it’s not something that comes every day, try to make the most of a great opportunity.

Q. If you look back on this year from a competition lens, not necessarily your own, would you look back on it and say, Man, it was an abnormal year with nine weeks off, no practice, no qualifying, or normal enough that you say, Man, that was a year that Kevin Harvick won nine races and didn’t make the Final 4?
CHASE ELLIOTT: It kind of goes to show you nothing’s guaranteed in this deal. Just the way the points format and things are, it lends opportunity for winning races at the right time. Fortunate for us, we were able to do that.
I think the big one I take away is, especially after a year like Kevin had, nothing’s guaranteed. You really have to put emphasis on trying to perform at the right time and hoping that you can put all the pieces together.
I’m certainly not taking it for granted. It’s a big deal, a great opportunity for us. To have won four races this season I think is something we’ve never done before. That’s also a great achievement for us. Hopefully we can try to get one more before it’s over with.

Q. Let me ask you, Joey Logano said I’m going to race for many more years, there will be many opportunities. He had a perspective similar to you about enjoy the moment, but this is definitely not your last race, not your last shot at a championship. Does that take the pressure off of you because you are so young, even though you drive yourself really hard?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, I mean, we like to think those things, right? But you don’t know. Hell, I don’t know what tomorrow is. I don’t think anybody does.
To sit here and promise myself things that I can’t promise myself, I don’t know. I don’t have a crystal ball, right? I do know this is a moment you have to enjoy because you don’t know with your last race win is, you don’t know when your last day is, when the last Championship 4 is for you, all of the above.
I’m just trying to enjoy the whole moment and make the most of whatever Sunday brings, put all the emphasis and preparation in the things that are going to give us the best chance on Sunday. To me that’s my preparation for certain situations and probably most importantly the right decisions on the car to get our car balance as close as we can to start the race. All my emphasis is there, and just trying to enjoy and embrace this time, make the most of it.

Q. I know you’ve talked about what last week’s win meant. How does it change who you are or what you do a week later? You’ve had success, you’ve done great things. Just because you won last week at Martinsville, how does that change what you might or might not do at Phoenix this weekend in this situation?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, I don’t think it changes our approach any, for sure. I think we’d be foolish to change how we do things now as we go into the last race of the year. Martinsville was a great win, great team win, timely win. Couldn’t have asked for a better time to go out there and perform really well.
I don’t think we change anything as far as how we get ready for the race weekend. I think that our prep and our process that we go through as the 9 team is good enough to compete when we do all the right things and make all the right decisions. I don’t think there’s any reason for us to go about anything differently this week than we have in the past.

Q. I understand every experience can be a learning experience. Because this is a little more of a short track, potential mentality, your experience at Bristol earlier this year late in the race, it not working out, what kind of a learning experience is that in case you’re put in a similar situation late in the race at Phoenix this weekend?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, I don’t know. You get in situations, and you don’t have weeks to sit there and think about what the decision is. You have to make a decision, go with it and live with it.
For me, I feel like when you get put in situations, you have to make a decision, go on down the road whether it works out or doesn’t work out.
It’s so hard to prepare for all of them because you don’t know what’s going to be thrown at you. What point in the race are you going to have a challenge, something not go your way, whatever. It’s so hard to simulate some of that because you don’t know till you get faced with it.
Just try to rely on past situations, past experience, use those little pieces of learning experiences to make a better decision next time. That’s all we can do.
You have to make them very fast. Sometimes they’re going to work out, sometimes they’re not. You’re going to try to make the one that’s going to better your result.

Q. Are you glad that Harvick is not in the final or are you able to have any sympathy for him not making it?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I don’t know. I don’t really think that’s for me to say. Certainly I commend them for winning nine races. I mean, that’s a major feat, for sure. So I think you have to respect that. But I’m not sure it’s for me to say or comment really past that.
I think for us to sit here and talk about others or the other three guys in it or who’s not in it, who somebody thinks the favorite is or isn’t, whatever, is just very unproductive in my eyes.
I’m just really thinking about us, being selfish in a lot of ways this week, trying to put emphasis on the things that are going to make us go fast. Me ranking Kevin’s season is not one of them.

Q. You’re the first Hendrick and Chevy guy in there since 2016. Jeff Andrews said Mr. H was texting him at 2 in the morning. Did you feel any pressure internally from Chevy or Mr. H to get into this finale?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Certainly we all want to do good, right? I would be lying if I said that there was any outside emphasis or pressure that made us want to be a part of this Championship 4 any more than we already did as a team, any more than I did personally.
As much as I know that our partners, Mr. Hendrick, everybody wants us to do really well, I want to do good. I want to do good anyway. Our team wants to do good. We want to perform, we want to win, too. I’m talking about just the guys that are on track and fighting the fight. There’s nothing outside of that that is going to make us want to go and perform any more than we already do.

Q. First Championship 4 appearance. You mentioned people you’ve talked to, tried to lean on. Is it going to be an advantage or disadvantage that you won’t have to go through a weekend full of nerves in terms of each practice and qualifying, but instead you get to show up and race?
CHASE ELLIOTT: It certainly takes a bunch, I guess, I don’t want to say complications out of it, but I guess just that time on track. It takes a lot of pieces away from the puzzle, right?
I don’t know that it’s good or bad. I mean, if you start the race on Sunday and your car’s off, Dang, I wish we had some practice. I wish we could have fixed this on Friday or Saturday. If you start the race on Sunday, your car is driving good, then no, you’re probably not happy with not having any.
I think it comes down to whether or not you hit your balance close to the race. If you do, you’re happy about it. If you don’t, you wish you had some more time.
Everybody is faced with the same rules and the same weekend schedule. We all kind of have the same opportunity, in my opinion. Kind of all depends on how you start the race.

Q. Do you know what car you’ll have this weekend? Will it have any significance? Has it run before or not?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I have no idea. I have no idea what car we’re taking this weekend. They all look the exact same from where I sit unless I look over and see which number is says on the roll bar. I couldn’t tell you. Whatever car Alan chooses, is the best choice, I’ll have confidence in that decision and I’ll live with it either way.

Q. After kind of breaking through the Round of 8 barrier, how did you celebrate?
CHASE ELLIOTT: To be real honest, I came home and went to bed, just to be real clear on that. I would have loved to come home, had a few beers, whatever, hung out. Just kind of the way it worked out.
We had meetings Monday morning, obviously a big week of prep going into this last event. Really just kind of after the race tried to enjoy the moment, embrace it, recognize that situations and moments like that don’t happen every day. Really enjoy that. At the same time just get ready and think about Monday and what we’re going to talk about in our meetings looking ahead to Phoenix.

Q. I don’t know at your young age if you think much about legacy building. Toward that, how important do you think winning a championship is?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, it’s a popular question, right? I don’t know because I’ve never done it. I hate to say that, but I just don’t. I think it’s one of those things where you don’t know. I don’t know what it feels like or the emotions of it or what it would bring or wouldn’t bring or whatever because I’ve never achieved that before.
I just think to be thinking about those things and not the things that are going to make our car go fast on Sunday is just the wrong, in my opinion, my approach right now, is the wrong thing.
I’m just all eyes. My mindset and focus is what is going to make you go fast. That is what matters on Sunday. That is going to be the thing that either gives you a chance or doesn’t. The rest of it right now just doesn’t matter. That’s where I’m at.

Q. Certainly, you’ve raced before in these finales not being part of it. You’ve had to race the championship drivers with respect, give them room. Are you expecting to get that back now? Are you anticipating that other drivers who aren’t in the championship will give you some more room than they might usually?
CHASE ELLIOTT: That’s a great question. I feel like the ones I’ve been a part of, I feel like I’ve really tried to let those guys fight it out, especially if those cars are good, which it seems like they have been in the fast, up front battling. I’ve tried to do that for sure.
I will say that I do feel like as the years have gone on, seems like the first year of this Final 4 thing, at least the first year I was a part of it, they didn’t want anything to do with those guys. Then it seems like as the years have gone on, people are just kind of running their race a little more.
I do think the respect is still there, but I do think there is a little bit more of a sense of those guys, the people that are not a part of the Final 4, running their event still.
You hope you get some respect. You hope those guys will give you that. Whether they will or won’t, I don’t know. Never done it. But we’ll find out. I do think the dynamic has changed a little bit as time has gone on. Hopefully we’re fast enough where it doesn’t matter.

Q. You mentioned you weren’t interested in thinking about the favorites for this race. With where you stack up, some could argue you’re an underdog coming into this without a Championship 4 appearance before. Do you feel like that or not really coming off the momentum of your most recent win?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, like I said, I just think it’s unproductive, right? What good does it do anybody to sit down and rank who they think… I guess if you’re in Vegas, it does those people some good, right? For me, I’m not betting this week in Vegas. I’m not laying any money down on trying to win or not.
I don’t care who the favorite is or who the underdog is. I just want to go, have a good run, try to win, achieve our goals.

Q. Why do you think you could be this year’s champion?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, I mean, I think for us, I feel like when we’ve been at our best, I feel like we’ve competed with the best in the series. I think if we do the right things, make the right calls throughout the week, the right adjustments and tweaks on the car from that first race, there’s no reason why I don’t think we can go and have a shot.

Q. What sort of advice, if any, has Jimmie Johnson provided to you about this weekend? What will the time you spent together at Hendrick Motorsport mean to you?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, Jimmie has been such a great friend for me, a great role model I think for just not me. The guy I feel like is a great example in a lot of different ways.
I think his message throughout the week is just do the things that kind of make you you. Now is not the time to try to reinvent the wheel or do things different, change who you are. Just go about your thing has you always have. That’s the kind of process that has led us to this point. There’s no need in changing who you are now. It’s one of those things that probably aren’t going to do you any good.

Q. What has your time with Jimmie meant?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Jimmie, like I said, such a great individual, person. But he’s a great guy. He’s a champion on the track and off the track. I think he’s made that very apparent over the years.
I’ve been very lucky and fortunate to call him a friend, have him to lean on in certain times. Yeah, I’m certainly going to miss him being around, being a part of our team all the time.

Q. Last year there was some conversation regarding Championship 4 appearances being weighted as potentially more valuable in this specific era than championships themselves. Where do you stand on that in how valuable the appearances are versus the titles themselves?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, I’m not sure on that. I haven’t really thought about that a ton. One thing I know for sure is you can’t win a championship unless you’re part of the Final 4. That’s my response to that.
I don’t know what the correct answer is on the weight of it. I know with the way the rules are, the way this deal is, you’re not going to win one unless you’re part of the Final 4. That I know for a fact.

Q. Would you consider your season a success in making the Championship 4 or is it title or bust?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Our season is not over, so we’ll find out Sunday.

Q. What do you think is holding you back at Phoenix? What is it going to take for you to finally get over the hump there and claim the title on Sunday?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I think for us, that was a great win at Martinsville, a very timely win as I mentioned. It was a big deal, for sure. I think we all recognize that as a team.
Looking to Phoenix, I think what is going to make the difference out there is a good week of preparation, a good week of making the right decisions on the car, taking what we had there in the spring and tweaking on it, making it better. You’re not going to go back there with what we had in the spring and be good. Everybody is always getting better, always improving.
We want to do some of that and hopefully we can improve and be better than the rest.

Q. Pit crew, talk about their performance all year, especially in the crucial moment at Martinsville, jackman comes out, avoided the penalty. How crucial was that?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, T.J… Obviously, you want to eliminate those mistakes in general. That’s number one, right? Nobody wants to make any mistakes. If you do make a mistake, to have the awareness, to be able to do it that quick to be able to say, okay, hey, if I go reset myself, we’re going to avoid this penalty, that was huge. I’m not sure what clicked in his head to go do that.
I’m coming to the pit box. He’s trying to make his mind up whether he wants to go back. I’m about to run him over. He had to make that pretty quick and he had to execute it quick because I was coming in there not slow. Just one of those things to have to really commend his preparation and the coaches for teaching that, knowing what to do in that situation.

Q. Back to a posting on Instagram where you said you were taking a break from social media. Do you think that played a role in getting over the hump in advancing to the Championship 4?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I’m not sure that it played a role in advancing to the Final 4 or not. It was just really one of those things where I think I, like a lot of the world nowadays, we spend any split second of downtime looking at our phones, scrolling, seeing what Twitter has to offer, what Joe Blow and John Smith are doing in the middle of their day.
At the end of the day I just kind of felt like it might be good to give that a rest, just not care as much about what everybody else is doing, just be more productive and focus on more things that matter in your present life more so than on the phone. That’s kind of really where that came from.
It really didn’t have as much to do with the on‑track stuff as it did just me personally thinking that it would be a good change for a little while.

Q. Dawsonville has been a good part of your life since your dad was racing. I want to be a little lighter here and talk about your memories there. Were you ever there and got to hear the siren when your dad won? What would it be like to have them sounding that siren, trying to break the thing Sunday night if you win?
CHASE ELLIOTT: I’ve never been around for it. I’ve seen videos and stuff. It’s a really cool tradition. Gordon Pirkle is the guy that has owned the poolroom. That’s kind of been his thing. I think it’s cool of him to carry that tradition on, be able to still do that. I’m grateful for that. I think it’s a cool thing.
I would love for it to go off on Sunday. I certainly hope that’s the case. But, yeah, it’s a cool tradition. Fortunate that I’ve been lucky enough that they wanted to carry it on and want to keep doing it.

Q. I’ve noticed some irony here going back to 1988 where the teams in baseball and basketball, the Dodgers and Lakers, have won titles in 2020. Back in 1988, I believe your dad Bill won a championship then. How cool would it be to be back in his footprints and go for a championship this year?
CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, that’s a cool thing. I didn’t know that, for sure.
People ask that a lot, right? I feel like it’s so hard. I just remember getting the question of, What is it going to feel like when you win that first race? What is that going to be like? How cool is that going to be to you?
I always had a really hard time answering that because I’d never done it before. So I don’t know. I think that’s the same answer now. Until you achieve a moment like that, that obviously is very meaningful to you, I think it’s really hard to put a stamp of what it means or how it feels or the emotions that come with it. I think I’d be speaking out of turn to really give you an answer because I don’t know. I don’t know.
I hope that one day I can figure it out, but right now I don’t know. We’ll give it our best shot to find out.
THE MODERATOR: That’s all the time we have for Chase. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer question. Good luck this weekend.
CHASE ELLIOTT: Cool, yeah. Thanks.

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