DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (December 8, 2009) - Chase Elliott climbed into the No. 9 Aaron's Dream Machine Ford for his final start of the 2009 season during Sunday's 42nd annual Snowball Derby.  Elliott, who turned 14 just a week before the year's biggest Late Model race, qualified 10th, ran up front with the nation's best drivers, and recorded an impressive seventh place finish in his first "Derby" attempt.

The 300-lap Super Late Model race is considered by many as the "Daytona 500" of short track racing and attracts the best drivers from all across the country.  This year the 37-car field included NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch - who went on to win the race, David Stremme and Steve Wallace, as well as Matt Kenseth's son Ross.

"The competition was tremendous, I learned so much this past week just being there, not to mention actually racing against these guys," said Elliott.  "Any one of them in the entire field was more than capable of winning and I am just thankful that the Aaron's team was able to be a part of it all. 

"We've already decided that we have our work cut out for us next year," he continued.  "We need to take this Aaron's team to the next level and we will start now working towards that goal.  I still have a lot to learn about the cars, which will make me better at communicating with Ricky (Turner) and Jim (Barfield) about adjustments at the track, and our pit crew plans to start training aggressively as well. 

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Aaron's and our entire team for a great first season.  And the fans have been such a support as well, I just have to thank them too. "

The second-generation driver made it a double header weekend with a start in Saturday's Allen Turner Snowflake 100 Pro Late Model race.  Elliott started 15th and survived a wreck-fest to finish 12th. 

Elliott's top-ten run at Pensacola, Florida's Five Flags Speedway put the final touches on an already impressive rookie resume.  In 31 combined Pro and Super Late Model starts this season, Elliott recorded four wins, 13 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes.  Of those seven finishes outside of the top-10, three were DNF's due to wrecks or mechanical failures.  His worst actual finish was 18th in his first career Super Late Model start.

Elliott scored his first win in only his seventh start during a Georgia Asphalt Series (GAS) race at his home track, Lanier National Speedway (Braselton, Ga.), becoming the youngest winner of a sanctioned Late Model race at Lanier and the youngest winner in the GAS series.  He followed that up with another GAS win at Watermelon Capital Speedway (Cordele, Ga.) and went on to win the 2009 GAS championship and Rookie of the Year honors.

Elliott made several starts in the now-defunct ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour and won the series' final race at Anderson (S.C.) Motor Speedway in August, out-running some of the Southeast's best drivers to score his first major win and become the youngest winner in the two-year series history.

After making his first Super Late Model start in early August, Elliott broke through with a big win in the PASS South series at North Carolina's famous Hickory Motor Speedway later that month.  The rookie driver showcased his talent with a last-lap pass on Jeff Choquette and held off the more-experienced driver to take the win, also earning the honor as the youngest driver in the eight-year PASS series history.

In August, Elliott also made his first start in the CRA Super Series at the Fairgrounds Speedway at Nashville (Tenn.), becoming the youngest driver to ever start a CRA race and the youngest to finish in the top-ten with a solid eighth place run.  He followed that up with another eighth-place showing in the Winchester 400 and a fifth in the North-South Shootout, both CRA-sanctioned Super Late Model races.

For the most up-to-date Chase Elliott news, including announcements about 2010, the official Chase Elliott Fan Club, his racing schedule and weekly podcast, please visit www.ChaseElliott.com.