Chase Elliott Earns 17th Top-10 Result of 2016
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 24 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet SS with NAPA AUTO PARTS as a major associate partner for Hendrick Motorsports, finished ninth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway Sunday afternoon.
Elliott started Sunday’s race in third, just behind his teammate Alex Bowman, the race leader. He continued to run inside the top five early in the race even after losing the position, rebounding to move into the runner-up spot on Lap 54. Elliott headed to pit road for a green-flag stop just before a caution flag flew, trapping him a lap down in 11th. He was able to take a wave-around, however, and restart 10th on the lead lap. He moved back to the verge of the top-five at Lap 130, settling into sixth for the next stretch of the race. With less than 100 laps to go, Elliott restarted in fifth following a pair of cautions. Though he lost positions on the restart, he remained inside the top 10. Two more cautions in quick succession with less than 60 laps remaining saw Elliott hold on to his top-10 position and restart 10th with less than 50 laps to go. When the race went to overtime, Elliott headed to pit road one final time for fresh tires. When the checkered flag waved after a second overtime restart, Elliott finished ninth.
“I think we’ll have something for them next week,” rookie of the year contender Elliott said as the checkered flag concluded the race. “Thanks for your hard work today.”
Elliott’s teammate, Bowman, subbing in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the four-car Hendrick Motorsports contingent finishing sixth. Kasey Kahne finished 13th with Jimmie Johnson rounding out the group in 38th.
The final event on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be Sunday, Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The event will be broadcast live on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET. It’s the final week for Most Popular Driver voting.
Chase Elliott Stats after Phoenix (November race)
| Ranking | Points | Starts | Poles | Wins | Top-5 | Top-10 | Laps Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2255 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 17 | 358 |
2016 Sprint Cup Standings (top 12 after 35 of 36 races; top 4 competing for championship)
| Postion | Driver (wins) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Joey Logano (3) | 5000 |
| 2. | Jimmie Johnson (4) | 5000 |
| 3. | Carl Edwards (3) | 5000 |
| 4. | Kyle Busch (4) | 5000 |
| 5. | Matt Kenseth (2) | 2296 |
| 6. | Denny Hamlin (3) | 2288 |
| 7. | Kurt Busch (1) | 2268 |
| 8. | Martin Truex Jr. (4) | 2266 |
| 9. | Brad Keselowski (4) | 2261 |
| 10. | Chase Elliott | 2255 |
| 11. | Kevin Harvick (4) | 2250 |
| 12. | Kyle Larson (1) | 2247 |
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 (308) and laps led (over 80,000). 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.