DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (June 9, 2009) - It looks like Lucky Dog missed the memo that the No. 9 Aaron's Lucky Dog Dream Machine team was heading to Cordele, Ga., last weekend for the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour Watermelon 100 at Watermelon Capital Speedway.  Chase Elliott and the team had nothing but bad luck from the time they unloaded at "The Melon."  After driving through the field twice during the 100-lap race, an on-track incident sent the Aaron's Dream Machine head-on into the outside wall and resulted in Elliott's first Late Model finish outside the top-ten and first DNF (22nd). 

"We were just unlucky from the start at Cordele," Elliott said.  "We struggled on Friday and worked hard all day Saturday and got the car to a place we were happy with, then I was late for the drivers meeting - which was my fault, and I felt terrible about it - and cost us a lap in qualifying.  The only good luck we had was when Ricky (Turner) noticed the left front tire was going down during the autograph session, and we found out the valve stem was leaking - we were able to get that fixed before the start of the race. 

"The team and I never gave up all weekend.  We had a good car, we just don't have the finish to show for it.  We drove from the back to the front twice and definitely could've had a solid top-ten, but again - the luck just wasn't there this weekend.  We'll just go back and repair the damage and get ready for next weekend.  I want to thank Aaron's, mom and dad, Bell, Oakley, the guys on the team and all of our product sponsors for giving me the opportunity to race every weekend." 

The Bill Elliott Racing team knew right away that something was off on the Aaron's Dream Machine, and it turned out to be trouble with the motor.  After sitting out the first practice and a lengthy troubleshooting session with Ford Racing on the phone Friday, crew chief Ricky Turner and car chief Jim Barfield worked diligently to get the car running again.

But the team still struggled to produce fast lap times during Saturday's practice.  Knowing they would start mid-pack, they decided to switch their focus from qualifying to race set-up.

It turned out to be a better decision than they had anticipated, as Elliott was late for the mandatory drivers' meeting and was penalized one lap from his qualifying effort.  It's no secret that the quickest laps in qualifying at the 3/8-mile track come on the second lap, which was bad news for Elliott.  The No. 9 ended up 23rd out of 29 cars going into the 100-lap race.

After a team meeting, the No. 9 crew was back in the game, ready to turn things around and get the Dream Machine back to the front.  Just 32 laps into the Watermelon 100, Elliott had moved all the way up to 10th place.  Still running conservatively to save his car for the end of the race, Elliott was squeezed off the track on the back straightaway during a restart.  Elliott couldn't get the car fired again, forcing another caution and moving him to the back of the field for the restart. 

Elliott lined up 27th for the restart and advanced another 12 positions to 15th when he reached the No. 63 of Austin Pickens.  While the two battled for position, the No. 4 of Michael Pilla punted the No. 9 Dream Machine and sent Elliott straight into the outside wall.  The hard contact tore up the nose and radiator on the Aaron's Dream Machine, but there was no suspension damage to the No. 9 Ford.  Following the incident, Pilla was parked by series officials.

That was little consolation for Elliott and the Aaron's team, who drove from the back to the front twice in the 100-lap race and were still relegated to a 22nd place finish, their first outside of the top-ten and, more unfortunately, their first DNF of Elliott's Late Model career.

Elliott and the No. 9 Aaron's Dream Machine team hope to get the car repaired in time to make their debut at South Alabama Speedway (Opp, Ala.) next weekend.  If not, their next race will be the June 20th ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour event at Montgomery (Ala.) Motor Speedway.  Stay tuned to www.ChaseElliott.com for the most up-to-date schedule.