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Elliott Earns Hard-Fought 15th-Place Finish at Atlanta
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By NAPA
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view team qualified 29th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway. Elliott showcased a 16-position gain by lap 60 en route to a ninth-place result in stage one and followed that up with a fifth-place finish in stage two. The 28-year-old driver remained in the top 10 during the final stage, ultimately finishing the 400-lap race in the fifth position. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion ranks third in the points standings, just 33 markers behind the leader. Following Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions at Dover Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott started Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race 29th. At the start of the scheduled 400-lap race, Elliott navigated among the surrounding cars, advancing to 20th by lap 39 before the first caution waved over the field. Under the caution, Elliott brought the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to pit road for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. Unfortunately, when exiting pit road, he made contact with a competitor but sustained no damage. On lap 48, Elliott took the green from the outside lane in the 15th position. Progressing steadily, he maneuvered to 13th halfway through stage one, making a gain of 16 positions at the “Monster Mile.” Continuing his charge, the 28-year-old driver entered the top 10 behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman with 46 laps to go in the stage. As the first stage drew to a close, another caution came out with two laps to go, ultimately leading to a ninth-place finish for Elliott under the yellow flag on lap 120.
Amid the caution, Elliott communicated to the No. 9 team that his Chevrolet experienced some tightness when near to his competitors. On lap 123, he pitted for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. When the green flag waved on lap 130, Elliott resumed in the ninth position. Shortly after the restart, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native reported that he got into the wall, but No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson reassured him that the NAPA Auto Parts Chevy was good and had no visible damage. On lap 182, Elliott visited pit road for fresh tires and fuel as green-flag pit stops were underway. He raced inside the top 10 as the pit cycle continued and advanced to the top five in the closing laps of the second stage. Ultimately, he took the green-and-white checkered flag in the fifth position on lap 250.
During the stage break, Elliott expressed confidence in his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, stating that he felt “just as good as everyone else” before pitting for four tires and fuel on lap 253. As the green flag waved for the start of the final stage on lap 259, Elliott was in the fifth position and continued to battle inside the top 10 until green-flag pit stops began. Elliott pitted for more tires and fuel on lap 320, but following his return to the track, a caution came out. Leveraging the No. 9 team’s strategy, Elliott stayed out during the caution, along with other drivers who had already pitted, which put him in the fourth spot for the restart. Following another caution, the green flag waved again on lap 339, with Elliott placed fifth. Demonstrating resilience, Elliott fended off his competitors to secure a top-five finish, taking the checkered flag in the fifth position at the conclusion of Sunday’s race on lap 400.
Elliott leaves Dover Motor Speedway third in the Cup Series points standings, just 33 markers behind the leader.
“I was really happy with our car, honestly. A couple of moves here or there… I needed to just get myself a little further forward. But I’m really happy with the NAPA Chevy. We had a really solid day, and it was fun. It’s always fun when you can pass your way to the front.”
Start / Finish: 29 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 377 pts. (-33)
Next Race: Sunday, May 5, Kansas Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
It was take two for High Limit Racing at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas, last week after the original date of April 9 was postponed due to heavy rain in the days prior. Race fans eager to see some 410 sprint car action packed the stands, leaving standing room only by the time Brad Sweet hit the track for hot laps in the
link hidden, please login to view No. 49 machine. Sweet was lightning-fast right away, clocking a lap time of 11.266 seconds in qualifying, putting him in the top spot and within just two-tenths of the track record. It marked Sweet’s fifth QuickTime award on the season, all achieved within a ten-race span.
As the evening unfolded, Sweet found himself starting fourth in his heat race, where he maintained his position to the checkered flag. Though finishing fourth, the Big Cat still earned a trip to the Dash as the fastest qualifier.
Drawing the third starting spot for the Dash, the NAPA team had seven laps to gain a better starting spot and test their setup in the feature. Sweet mounted a thrilling battle for second but ultimately crossed the line in third. He lined up in that spot for the main event, and the feature went green. The NAPA driver navigated the track to the best of his abilities as the laps ticked by. With an extended mid-race caution, the No. 49 team tried to modify their strategy. Sweet faced fierce competition and a challenging track surface but brought the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 to the finish line in fourth place.
Start / Finish: 3 / 4
Points Standing / Total: 2 / 662 pts. (-17)
Next Race: Wednesday, May 1, 81 Speedway, Park City, KS
How to Watch or Listen:
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By NAPA
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view team qualified ninth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Elliott led laps en route to a second-place result in stage one and followed that up with an eighth-place finish in stage two. After making multiple moves to try to advance to the front of the field towards the end race, he avoided a last-lap multi-car incident to finish 15th. The 28-year-old driver now sits third in the Cup Series point standings, just 22 markers behind the leader. Chase Elliott advanced to the final round of Saturday’s qualifying session, ultimately claiming a ninth-place starting position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Early in the race, Elliott opted to drop back in the field in an effort to conserve fuel. He maneuvered his way forward utilizing the outside lane as the field went three wide. Eventually, the driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 found the front of the pack and took over the lead for the first time of the race on lap 42. Just two laps later, Elliott made his way to pit road for a fuel-only stop. Once green-flag stops cycled through, the 28-year-old driver retook the lead. He raced side-by-side with the No. 2 for the top spot as the field ran double file. Elliott came up just short of the stage win, taking the green-and-white checkered flag in second at the conclusion of lap 60.
Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott relayed that he thought he wore out the right front tire. After the team made a pit stop for four tires and fuel, crew chief Alan Gustafson examined the tires and relayed to Elliott that the right front looked fine. The 2020 Cup Series champion was the second one off of pit road but opted to line up on the outside of row two to start the second stage. The majority of the field went back to three-wide racing and Elliott utilized all the lanes throughout the stage to find momentum. On lap 103, he brought the NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet to the attention of his crew for fuel. In the closing laps of stage two, Elliott was running among the front half of his competitors and scored an eighth-place result at its lap-120 conclusion.
After pitting for four tires and fuel during the stage break, the team opted to pit again to top off the fuel tank of the NAPA Auto Parts Chevy. Elliott took the green flag for the final stage deep in the field and was running just outside of the top 20 when the yellow flag waved for a multi-car incident. After pitting for fuel only, Elliott restarted inside the top 15 and continued to run among the top 20 in the running order. After another caution came out on lap, the No. 9 NAPA team took the opportunity to pit for the final time for fuel. Elliott was the 16th to choose his lane for the lap-161 restart and opted for the inside. As the laps wound down, Elliott joined a third lane of cars on the outside. After initially making progress, the lane stalled out and he lost his momentum. On the final lap of the race, the leaders triggered a multi-car incident and Elliott avoided the melee to earn a 15th-place finish.
A solid points day for Elliott moved him up to third in the Cup Series driver standings. He’ll head to Dover Motor Speedway next week just 22 markers behind the leader.
Start / Finish: 9 / 15
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 337 (-22)
Next Race: Sunday, April 28, Dover Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 2:00 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
Chase Elliott scored his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, snapping a 42-race winless streak The win is Elliott’s 19th career Cup Series victory in his 295th start, his third at a 1.5-mile track and his first at Texas It was the Dawsonville, Georgia, native’s first victory with Hooters as the primary partner on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Elliott led three times for a total of 39 laps, including the final 17 circuits The 28-year-old driver now sits fourth in the Cup Series point standings, just 32 markers behind the leader Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hooters team qualified 24th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Once the green flag dropped, Elliott improved to 21st and remained there until the first round of green-flag pit stops got under way. As part of the team’s strategy to try to gain track position, Elliott ran long and eventually took over the lead. Crew chief Alan Gustafson was close to calling his driver to pit road, but the caution flag waved at an opportune time with Elliott still out front when the yellow flag waved on lap 50. Under the caution, Elliott brought the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. He restarted in the ninth position and advanced to seventh to end the first stage at lap 80.
During the stage break, Elliott relayed that the Hooter’s Chevrolet was a little edgy late in the run and could use a little bit of security. After a fast stop for four tires and fuel, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native lined up seventh to start the second stage and was up to fifth when the race was slowed for a caution on lap 101. Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for right-side tires and fuel. The driver of the No. 9 was fifth to line up for the restart. He got shuffled back to 10th early in the run and was in that same spot when the caution came out on lap 114. Staying out, Elliott restarted ninth and remained inside the top 10. He came to pit road for four tires and fuel when the race fell under caution on lap 137. With varying pit strategies, Elliott restarted in 13th and drove to 10th to finish stage two at lap 165.
Under the stage-ending caution, the team opted not to pit. Elliott took the green flag for the final stage from the fifth position on lap 172 and advanced to fourth before the caution came out for an incident the very next lap. Once again, Elliott stayed out on the track and was fourth for the restart on lap 177. He was in that same position at the time of the next caution on lap 181. After choosing not to pit, he was in fourth for the restart and moved into third on lap 185. A long green-flag run ensued, and Elliott pitted from the third position with just over 50 laps remaining in the race. He was scored in 15th when a caution came out on lap 230 before the field had cycled through pit stops. Once the teams that hadn’t pit yet made their stops under the yellow, Elliott moved up to third for the restart. The 28-year-old driver made a power move to the lead. He held point until the driver of the No. 11 worked his way by with 22 laps to go. An on-track incident brought out the yellow flag with just 13 laps remaining, giving Elliott another shot at the lead on the ensuing restart. Once the race was back under way with eight laps to go in regulation, Elliott was battling for the lead and was scored ahead when another caution flag came out. He led the field to the green flag with just two laps remaining, but an incident brought out the caution again and sent the race into overtime. Elliott held off the competition through multiple overtime restarts to earn his first victory of the season.
It was his 19th career Cup Series victory and his first premier series win at Texas. With the win, Elliott and the No. 9 team moved up to fourth in the Cup Series points standings, just 32 markers behind the leader.
“First off, thanks to everybody that came out today. You guys are unbelievable,” Elliott said following the win.
“Hooters has been a partner of ours for a number of years now. It’s been a dream of mine to pay respect to the late Alan Kulwicki. Driving this car to a victory and do a Polish victory lap, just really crazy how things came full circle there in that moment. It was pretty emotional for me. He beat dad back in the day. Here we are sharing his sponsor and having an opportunity to win today.
So just, man, couldn’t be more grateful for this journey and kind of the path that hasn’t always been fun, but certainly have enjoyed working with our guys. We’ve been working really hard and really well together. Like I said, hasn’t always been fun, but we’ve enjoyed the fight together.
Couldn’t be more proud of our team. Thanks to our partners at link hidden, please login to view, Chevrolet. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. Had a big week last week. Boss, thank you for sticking with me. Really, really proud of this. Appreciate all the folks back home that have stuck with me and helped us get back on track.”
Start / Finish: 24 / 1
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 303 pts. (-32)
Next Race: Sunday, April 21, Talladega Superspeedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 UniFirst team qualified third for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway The 28-year-old driver finished stage one in the third position and followed that up with a fourth-place result in stage two Elliott took the lead for the first time of the race in the final stage, pacing the field for a total of 64 laps After an overtime finish, Elliott ultimately took the checkered flag in the third position – part of a 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports during the organization’s 40th anniversary weekend at Martinsville The 2020 premier series champion is now sixth in the Cup Series points standings, only 51 points behind the leader Chase Elliott and the No. 9 UniFirst team qualified third for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway during a special 40th anniversary weekend for Hendrick Motorsports. Driving the ruby red No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Elliott held steady inside the top five throughout the entirety of the caution-free first stage. He took the green-and-white checkered flag in the third position at lap 80, collecting eight valuable stage points in the process.
During the stage break, the 28-year-old driver reported that his UniFirst Chevrolet fired off tighter than he anticipated. To help, the team made an air-pressure adjustment during its pit stop for four tires and fuel. He lined up fourth to start the second stage and continued to run inside the top five. Elliott was scored in the fifth position when the caution came out on lap 113. He relayed to crew chief Alan Gustafson that his Chevrolet was a little better than the last run. The team opted not to pit, and Elliott restarted from the fifth spot on lap 119. He remained there until he made the pass for fourth with three laps left in stage two. That’s where the Dawsonville, Georgia, native would finish the second stage, collecting an additional seven stage points.
Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott relayed that his UniFirst Chevrolet was tighter to start that run. A fast stop for four tires and fuel gained the driver of the No. 9 two spots on pit road, allowing Elliott to fire off for the final stage from the front row. Taking the green flag in second on lap 193, the 2020 Cup Series champion powered to the lead and remained there through the lap-204 caution. Elliott continued to hold point for several laps until the No. 11 caught up to him. The two battled side-by-side until Elliott settled into the second position on lap 258. He held steady in the runner-up spot until green-flag pit stops got under way. After pitting for four tires and fuel on lap 298, Elliott worked his way by the No. 11 as green-flag stops continued, putting himself in position to assume the lead once the field cycled through pit stops. However, Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron passed Elliott prior to pit stops concluding. Byron eventually took over the top spot with Elliott not far behind in second. An incident on the track with less than five laps remaining brought out the yellow flag and sent the race into overtime. Elliott lined up beside Byron for the final restart of the race. He gave it his all in the final two laps, ultimately taking the checkered flag in the third position – Elliott’s second consecutive top-five finish.
Elliott’s result was also part of a 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports. Byron won the race with Kyle Larson finishing second. Following the third-place finish, Elliott and the No. 9 team are sixth in the Cup Series points standings, just 51 markers behind the leader.
“Congrats to William (Byron) and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. Rick and Linda (Hendrick), Jeff (Gordon), Jeff (Andrews), Chad (Knaus) and all the people that put this together for us,” Elliott said. “They have an unbelievable program and I think we are all proud to call it home. It was awesome hosting over 1,000 people from Hendrick today – employees and their families. Glad one of us could get it done. Obviously, I wish we could have got it done, selfishly, like anybody would. But it is nice to have a good couple of solid weeks and be in contention for a win. We haven’t been in contention to win one for a while, so (it was) kind of nice to get to that last restart when it actually mattered. So, enjoyed that aspect and certainly hungry for more.”
Start / Finish: 3 / 3
Points Standing / Total: 6th / 258 pts. (-51)
Next Race: Sunday, April 14, Texas Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN or SiriusXM
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