Looking Back: Chase Elliott Breaks Through At Iowa

In the end, the biggest surprise was it took as long as it did.

But in his 18th career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race, Chase Elliott finally broke through with a win at Iowa Speedway, in the Graham Tire 150 on Saturday, May 19, 2012. The son of NASCAR Cup Series legend Bill Elliott, Chase had quickly acclimated himself to stock car racing and found plenty of success on the super late model circuit.

It took him a little bit, though, to acclimate to the next level.

As a 15-year-old, Elliott colledted three top fives and six top 10s in 12 starts in 2011, and finished ninth in points. He wound up third in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year that season, behind winner Alex Bowman and Corey LaJoie.

Elliott closed out 2011 with a third-place finish in the West race behind Ryan Blaney and Bowman, and started 2012 off leading 40 laps at Bristol before he was spun out of the lead after contact with Blaney.

Two races later, he would come as close as he could without winning, crossing the finish line .011 seconds behind Brett Moffitt at Richmond Raceway.

Then came Iowa.

Moffitt, who had won at his home track the year before, dominated from the pole and led the first 144 laps. But as he started to fade in the closing laps, Cale Conley made a bid for the lead. The two raced side-by-side before Conley slipped up into Moffitt. That opened the door for Elliott.

“Contact! The 47 into the 11.
The 9 goes by. Chase Elliott into the lead!!!”

👀!!!

We’re watching the 2012 East-West race from @iowaspeedway on Facebook.
💻 → https://t.co/uLNRIYnbhH@chaseelliott | @Brett_Moffitt pic.twitter.com/aGbeAHedck

— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 2, 2020

From there, Elliott had to withstand one more restart and out-run Blaney to the finish.

“Chase Elliott will see the 🏁 for the first time in his career.

“Elliott wins in Iowa.”@chaseelliott | @iowaspeedway pic.twitter.com/S5hJzeGYLd

— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 2, 2020

Behind Elliott, Conley came home fourth and action sports star Travis Pastrana was fifth.

RACING-REFERENCE: 2012 Graham Tire 150

Moffitt came home fifth. Kyle Larson, Sergio Pena, Dylan Kwasniewski, Greg Pursley and Eddie MacDonald rounded out the top 10.

“It’s taken a little while to get this, but I feel like we’re definitely on the right track to running well. Man, it’s just awesome. I can’t describe it.”@chaseelliott for his first #NASCAR win in 2012 at @iowaspeedway pic.twitter.com/zPSirDLZ9l

— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 2, 2020

It would be Elliott’s only win of 2012, but he was clearly on the fast track. He had four more top five finishes and finished fourth in the championship standings. He also made six ARCA Menards Series starts with three top fives.

He picked up his first ARCA Menards win at Pocono Raceway in June, and in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in September. The following year, he drove to the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, and was a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver by 2016.

The rest of the field?

Blaney would join him in the Cup series in 2016, while Larson preceded them with his jump to the sport’s highest level in 2014. Moffitt would win the Cup Rookie of the Year in 2015 and the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championship in 2018.

Conley made 42 Xfinity Series starts, including 30 in 2015. His last stock car start was in 2017, before he returned to his dirt racing roots. On the personal side, Conley married Blaney’s sister, Emma, in 2018. Pastrana would run a full NASCAR Xfinity Series slate in 2013, finishing 14th in points. He made a NASCAR Gander Truck Series start in 2015 and 2017 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.