DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (July 6, 2009) - Chase Elliott made his 12th Late Model start Friday night at Lanier National Speedway (Braselton, Ga.) in front of one of the largest crowds in the track's history.  After starting sixth in the Georgia Asphalt Series Independence Day 100, 13-year-old Elliott battled a loose race car and fought to earn his 11th career top-ten with a seventh place finish in the No. 9 Aaron's Lucky Dog Dream Machine.

"It seemed like we were chasing the car from the time we unloaded this week but in reality we were just as good as we were when I won," Elliott said.  "The track has changed quite a bit since I won here a few weeks back and the regulars like Russell Fleeman and Paul Kelley have definitely stepped up their game.  I am proud of the team's efforts all weekend and Ricky's decision to come in and make adjustments late in the race to learn more for our next race back here.  It was definitely a smart move and the change took the car in the right direction which we can build on for next time here. We'll go back and compare our notes and hopefully we'll be running up front again at Lanier.  Next weekend we're heading to Orange County Speedway [Rougemont, N.C.].  It'll be my first time there, and I'm looking forward to running with the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour again."

After running in the top-ten in both GAS practice rounds, Elliott picked up three-tenths of a second during qualifying to lay down the sixth quickest lap in the 19-car field, one of the largest this season. 

Elliott started the Independence Day 100 on the outside of row three and jumped to the inside line on lap two to maintain sixth position.  The top six cars formed a pack and started pulling away from seventh before the first caution on lap 10 bunched the field up again. 

The field lined up for the double file restart with Elliott again on the outside in sixth place.  At the green, Elliott cleared the No. 45 of Dwayne Buggay to move into fifth but Buggay soon reclaimed his position, bumping the No. 9 back to sixth again.

The field spread out single file as the laps ticked away with Elliott riding around in sixth until the second caution on lap 30.  Elliott, who was strong on restarts all night, picked up two positions when the race resumed but fell back into sixth five laps into the green flag run.

As the top five cars pulled away, Elliott battled pressure from No. 22 Cale Langford before Langford was able to take over sixth on lap 47.  Twenty laps later, Elliott held the outside line to defend the seventh position from Buggay before the third caution on lap 70.

Ricky Turner, crew chief for the No. 9 Aaron's Dream Machine team, called Elliott into the pits to help the loose handling of the car.  After adjustments to the sway bar and tire pressure, Elliott rejoined the field in seventh for the restart.

Elliott maintained seventh for nine green flag laps until the final caution on lap 79.  After getting a feel for the car, Elliott reported that the changes definitely helped.  As the field took the green for the final 20 laps, the cars spread out single file around the 3/8-mile track while Paul Kelley and Russell Fleeman battled back and forth for the lead.
All said, Elliott battled the handling on the Aaron's Dream Machine more than the cars on the track to finish seventh, the last car on the lead lap, in the fifth GAS race of the season.  The top-ten finish continued Elliott's impressive rookie season in which he has posted 11 top-ten's in 12 starts.

Elliott and the No. 9 Aaron's Dream Machine will head to Orange County Speedway for the Saturday, July 11th ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour race.