Chase Elliott Faces Adversity in Kentucky Race, Regroups for 31st-Place Finish
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports, finished 31st in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway Saturday evening.
In what proved to be a challenging night for the rookie, Elliott took the green flag in eighth position. The driver of the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS held steady within the top 10, knocking on the door of the top five.
Following a speedy pit stop by the No. 24 team, Elliott found himself restarting in fourth from a Lap 81 caution. However, an incident involving contact between Elliott and a competitor sent the rookie to the garage for timely repairs. Just before a caution was brought out on Lap 152, Elliott rejoined the field and the team worked hard for the remainder of the event, ultimately placing 31st when the checkered flag waved.
“There is really not enough room to be three-wide, so I heard at the last second we were three-wide and I had a feeling that we were, just because we got bottled up there off of (Turn) 2,” Elliott said. “I tried to give as much room as I possibly could to stay at the top of the black and out of the grey. I guess Ryan (Blaney) just got loose and got us, but that is racing.
“The good news is we had another fast car, the bad news that is the third bad week in a row,” the rookie continued. “We will try to regroup and go get them wherever we go next.”
Elliott’s teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., led the four-car Hendrick Motorsports contingent to the checkered flag finishing 13th. Kasey Kahne finished 14th and Jimmie Johnson took home a 32nd-place result.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule will be at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 17th. The event begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with live coverage provided by NBCSN.
Chase Elliott 2016 Stats after Kentucky
| Ranking | Points | Starts | Poles | Wins | Top-5 | Top-10 | Laps Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 492 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 118 |
2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings (Top 16 after 18 of 36 races)
| Postion | Driver (wins) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kevin Harvick (1) | 599 |
| 2. | Brad Keselowski (4) | 595 |
| 3. | Kurt Busch (1) | 583 |
| 4. | Carl Edwards (2) | 566 |
| 5. | Joey Logano (1) | 533 |
| 6. | Kyle Busch (3) | 521 |
| 7. | Martin Truex Jr. (1) | 514 |
| 8. | Chase Elliott | 492 |
| 9. | Jimmie Johnson (2) | 484 |
| 10. | Matt Kenseth (1) | 477 |
| 11. | Denny Hamlin (1) | 472 |
| 12. | Ryan Newman | 463 |
| 13. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 461 |
| 14. | Austin Dillon | 460 |
| 15. | Jamie McMurray | 439 |
| 16. | Trevor Bayne | 429 |
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 (312) and laps led (more than 82,000). It has earned at least one race win in a record 40 different seasons, including an active streak of 39 in a row (1986-2024). 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 driven by 2020 champion Chase Elliott.