Elliott Remains Above Cutline after First Race of NASCAR Playoffs

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified 21st for Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
• Elliott finished stage one of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race in 19th and ended stage two in 21st after spending time inside the top 10.
• In the final stage, the 2020 Cup Series champion improved to 17th to end the race.
• Elliott leaves Darlington 11th in the playoff standings, nine points above the cutline to advance to the Round of 12.

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs kicked off on Sunday with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified 21st for the 367-lap race. The field barely took the green flag before the first incident of the day brought out the caution. Elliott was able to get through unscathed, and he restarted 20th on lap seven. After initially dropping back to 23rd, he increased his position to 19th before green-flag pit stops got underway. Elliott brought the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet to the attention of his crew for four fresh tires and fuel on lap 40 and returned to the track in 27th. He was up to 16th before teams began visiting pit road again. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott in for four fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment on lap 78. When the green-and-white checkered flag to end stage one waved on lap 115, he was scored in 19th.

Under the stage-ending caution, the team decided to reverse the air pressure adjustment made during the previous stop. After Elliott pitted for four tires and fuel, he lined up 15th to start the second stage on lap 123. He continued to race inside the top 15 and was scored in 14th when the caution came out on lap 152. The 29-year-old driver visited pit road for fuel and four fresh tires. A fast pit stop put Chase inside the top 10 for the restart, where he remained until green-flag pit stops got underway. Opting to run long, Elliott remained on track, eventually taking over the lead. Gustafson called his driver to pit on lap 195. Elliott returned a little deeper in the field, but his fresher tires gave him an advantage over his competitors. The advantage was unfortunately short lived as the caution would come out before he could advance many positions. Under the yellow, Elliott brought the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy to pit road for four tires and fuel. There was an issue with the left rear, which caused a lengthy stop. He restarted 25th on lap 209 and battled to 21st before the end of stage two on lap 230.

After pitting under the stage-ending caution, Elliott started the final stage in the 20th position. He was in that same spot when teams began visiting pit road under green on lap 272. Elliott remained on track until pitting from the third position on lap 280. He returned in the 32nd position, one lap down but on fresher tires. Elliott pressed forward, making his way to 22nd before the caution came out on lap 312. He received the free pass, putting him back on the lead lap. Elliott relayed to his team that his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy needed more front turn and more rear grip, so Gustafson called for a chassis adjustment during the four-tire stop. Restarting 22nd on lap 320, Elliott steadily improved his position, reaching 16th on lap 351. He ultimately took the checkered flag in 17th.

“It was a long night for the No. 9 NAPA Chevy team,” Elliott remarked after the race. “We clawed our way up into the top 10. We went long on that one run in the second stage. Everybody had gotten really aggressive shorting it, so we just thought we’d tried to run long and see what happened. As soon as we did that and got eight or 10 laps in, the caution came out. We came in and ended up having an issue on pit road and, unfortunately, it all kind of happened at the same time on that next cycle. We just had to put our heads down and grind it out.

“We just have to keep pushing at it. We just have to put our heads together and try to execute better at Gateway. Appreciate all the effort from everyone at NAPA, Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports. Everyone is working really hard, we just have to put our heads together and figure out how to go forward.”

Elliott leaves Darlington 11th in the playoff standings. He’s nine points above the cutline with two races remaining in the Round of 16.

Start / Finish: 21 / 17
Points Standing / Total: 11th / +9 above cutline

Next Race: Sunday, Sept. 7, WWT Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on USA, SiriusXM or MRN

NAPA: @NAPARacing
Chase Elliott: @ChaseElliott
Hendrick Motorsports: @TeamHendrick
No. 9 Team: @Hendrick9Team