Chase Elliott may not have scored a race win in his first full season on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but he still will have some hardware to take home.
The 20-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia speedster recorded an 11th place finish in Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and afterwards, was named the 2016 Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
Elliott competed against several contenders for the title during the season, including Pocono winner Chris Buescher and Ryan Blaney.
“I definitely think it’s a really cool honor and I’ve been proud to be a part of it this year racing against Ryan (Blaney), Chris (Buescher) and Brian (Scott),” Elliott said. “It’s been fun to be a part of that group and I appreciate the sportsmanship those guys have shown throughout the year.”
Elliott joins Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne as Hendrick Motorsports drivers who have earned the Rookie of the Year honor. Coincidentally, Elliott earned his honor driving for the same team as Gordon, who was Rookie of the Year in 1993. Elliott took over Gordon’s ride when the four-time series champion retired last year.
Elliott is also the third Georgia native to win the Rookie of the Year title, joining Georgia Racing Hall of Fame members Sam McQuagg (1965) and Jody Ridley (1980) on that list.
Elliott, the son of NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bill Elliott, opened his rookie campaign by scoring the pole for the season opening Daytona 500 back in February. From there, Elliott scored 10 top-5 finishes, along with 17 top-10 results. He scored a second pole in May at Talladega. In 36 starts, he led 358 laps, completing 97.3 percent of all the laps completed during the season.
His best finish of the year was a second place, which he recorded twice, both coming at Michigan International Speedway.
Elliott will be honored as the 2016 NASCAR Rookie of the Year at the upcoming Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week in Las Vegas Nov. 30 – December 2.
