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Consistency Key as Elliott Advances to The Chase Round of 12

30 September-2 October, 2016, Dover, Delaware USA Chase Elliott (24) ©2016, John Harrelson / NKP

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 24 Mountain Dew Chevrolet SS with NAPA AUTO PARTS as a major associate partner for Hendrick Motorsports, finished third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway Sunday afternoon.

Starting just inside the top 10 in ninth, Elliott fell to 11th by Lap 10. Following the first caution of the race, however, he jumped up to eighth. That is where he remained for nearly the next 80 laps, finding 7th on Lap 117 before falling to ninth on Lap 170.

 

30 September-2 October, 2016, Dover, Delaware USAChase Elliott©2016, Matthew T. ThackerNKP

 

On a restart on Lap 199 following a caution, Elliott jumped up to sixth, and that’s where he would run until he headed to pit road for a green-flag stop on Lap 276. When the field cycled through, Elliott had cracked the top five, and with 100 laps remaining he was running fourth – one of just 10 cars on the lead lap due to long, green-flag runs.

Following a speedy green-flag pit stop with less than 45 laps to go, Elliott raced his way to third when the field cycled through. He would hold that position to finish third.

“I’ve been excited about it,” rookie of the year contender Elliott said after advancing to the Round of 12. “I feel really confident in this group of guys. Alan Gustafson has been doing such a good job, that guy is unbelievable. I couldn’t ask for a better guy on top of the box so I’m really proud of him and this entire team. They’ve been working their tails off to get to where we are and I’m proud of the way we’ve been running. I think we’ve been building and gaining on some things we’ve been missing and this is a good time to do it.

 

30 September-2 October, 2016, Dover, Delaware USAChase Elliott©2016, Matthew T. ThackerNKP

 

Elliott’s teammate, Jimmie Johnson was the second Hendrick Motorsports car across the finish line in seventh, followed by Jeff Gordon (subbing in for Dale Earnhardt Jr.) in 10th and Kasey Kahne in 12th.

The next event on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be Saturday, Oct. 8 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The event will be broadcast live on NBC at 7:00 p.m. ET.

 

Chase Elliott Stats after Dover (October race)

Ranking (Chase for the Sprint Cup)PointsStartsPolesWinsTop-5Top-10Laps Led
630002920915239

 

2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup Standings (after 3 of 10 playoff races; start of Round of 12)

PostionDriver (wins)Points
1.Martin Truex Jr. (4)3000
2.Kyle Busch (4)3000
3.Brad Keselowski (4)3000
4.Matt Kenseth (2)3000
5.Joey Logano (1)3000
6.Chase Elliott3000
7.Jimmie Johnson (2)3000
8.Denny Hamlin (3)3000
9.Carl Edwards (2)3000
10.Kurt Busch (1)3000
11.Austin Dillon3000
12.Kevin Harvick (3)3000

 

30 September-2 October, 2016, Dover, Delaware USA Chase Elliott (24) ©2016, John Harrelson / NKP

 

NAPA: @NAPARacing
Chase Elliott: @ChaseElliott
Hendrick Motorsports: @TeamHendrick
No. 24 Team: @Hendrick24Team

Hendrick Motorsports View All

Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest team in NASCAR Cup Series history. At the sport’s premier level, the organization holds the all-time records in every major statistical category, including championships (14), points-paying race victories (291) and laps led (over 77,000). Headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, the team fields four full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by 2020 champion Chase Elliott.

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