DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (November 9, 2009) - Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Aaron's Dream Machine team finished fifth in the 125-lap CRA Super Series race during Saturday's North-South Shootout at Concord (N.C.) Speedway.  After struggling slightly in qualifying, thirteen-year-old Elliott started 14th and drove his way toward the front to post a solid top-five finish in strong 26-car field.

After the race, Elliott radioed to his crew, "I'm sorry guys, if I had had a better qualifying effort, we wouldn't have had to use our equipment up to get to fifth.  The car was great tonight; I wish I could have done more."

Ricky Turner, Elliott's crew chief and substitute spotter while dad Bill Elliott raced in Texas, encouraged the young driver, "Chase, you did an exceptionally good job, man.  You just don't realize the amount of competition that you were up against tonight.  I think you did great, and now we have a car and data that we can work from going into the World Crown next weekend."

After posting the tenth quickest time in first practice, Elliott and the No. 9 Aaron's Dream Machine picked up half a second and nearly three miles per hour to top the leader board in final practice.  Elliott's fastest lap of 15.808 seconds placed him ahead of Jeff Choquette in second and the rest of the 26-car field.

Despite the speed in practice, Elliott fell victim to the cool autumn air in Concord, N.C., when qualifying rolled around late Friday night. 

"Getting heat in the tires was the key to a good run in qualifying, and I just didn't get enough heat in mine," said Elliott, who went out sixth in the lineup and posted the 12th fastest time.  Elliott's fastest lap of 16.032 seconds was just over half a second off the pole lap of Cassius Clark.

Only the top-five qualifiers were locked in while the rest of the field raced for starting positions in 20-lap heat races.  Elliott started fourth in the first heat and finished fifth, placing him 14th for the start of Saturday's 125-lap feature.

Elliott took the green flag in 14th but quickly moved into 11th before the first caution on lap two.  Back under green again, Elliott took over tenth position from the No. 51 of Brian Ickler on lap nine and maintained his position in the top-ten until the second caution on lap 46.

Elliott steered the No. 9 Aaron's Dream Machine down pit road to the attention of his crew for two fresh right side tires.  Elliott rejoined the field in ninth position again but moved up to seventh when two cars pitted late. 

The field took the green flag and Elliott moved into sixth place after four laps.  With his sights set on the top-five, Elliott embarked on a 25-lap battle with Max Gresham and the No. 7-11 and finally took over fifth place on lap 78.

Around the 100-lap mark, Elliott shuffled positions with Preston Peltier and Choquette, dropping to sixth but reclaiming fifth by lap 112.

As the final laps wound down, Elliott held off pressure from Ryan Blaney's No. 110 machine as they raced all the way to the checkers with Elliott posting fifth and Blaney sixth.

The CRA-sanctioned event was Elliott's seventh Super Late Model start and fourth SLM top-ten.  The second-generation driver has made 28 total Late Model starts since moving up to the stock cars in April, recording four wins, 13 top-5's and 23 top-10's overall.

Up next on Elliott's schedule is the 26th Annual World Crown 300, November 13-15, at the newly remodeled Gresham Motorsports Park (formerly Peach State Speedway) in Jefferson, Ga.  The 300-lap Pro Late Model race will be Elliott's first start at the half-mile asphalt track near his hometown of Dawsonville, Ga.  For more information, including event schedule and tickets, please visit www.GreshamMotorsportsPark.com.

For the most up-to-date Chase Elliott news, including his racing schedule and weekly podcast, please visit www.ChaseElliott.com.

Be sure to vote for Chase Elliott in the 2009 Late Model Most Popular Driver Award presented by Aluminum Racing Products.  You can vote daily now through December 6th by following the link at www.ChaseElliott.com.