Elliott Battles from 18th to Fifth in Resilient Pocono Run
- Chase Elliott and the No.9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified 18th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.
- Elliott had a strong points day, finishing eighth in stage one and third in stage two, earning a total of 11 stage points.
- Elliott spent most of the final stage running in the top five, ultimately taking the checkered flag in the fifth position.
- He leaves Pocono fifth in the Cup Series points standings, 80 markers behind the leader.
Chase Elliott and the No.9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified 18th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. Elliott wasted no time working his way through the pack during the opening stage. Early on, he reported the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet felt loose with a hot right rear tire. He still managed to muscle his way into the top ten, finishing the stage in eighth.
The team called Elliott in for four fresh tires, fuel and key adjustments, setting him up to restart 12th for stage two. A strong launch on the restart boosted him to ninth, and an aggressive inside move helped him climb to sixth before a mid-stage caution bunched up the field. On the following restart, Elliott went three-wide and completed a pass to break into the top five. He reported the No. 9 NAPA Chevy felt significantly better as he settled into fifth. Another caution on lap 58 brought Elliott back to pit road for four tires and fuel. He restarted deep in the field but was able to battle his way back, moving up to 13th before a caution on lap 75 set up another restart. Elliott capitalized, jumping to ninth and then to third before the stage ended.
Elliott started the final stage in third and was still racing inside the top five when green-flag pit stops got under way. The 29-year-old driver brought the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet to the attention of his crew on lap 121 for four fresh tires and fuel. Before the field could cycle through pit stops, an incident brought out the caution on lap 125. Elliott lined up on the outside of row three for the restart and powered to fourth in a hurry. He remained there for several laps before ultimately taking the checkered flag in the fifth position.
“We were just really loose in (turn) three,” Elliott said of the handling of the No. 9 Chevrolet. “I felt like I could pace pretty good through turns one and two, but I just could not get turn three right all day. Certainly, as the run went on, it became more challenging for me, and I started making more and more mistakes over there. I thought Denny (Hamlin) and Ryan (Blaney) could do a better job of stalking the person in front of them to get themselves opportunities. I was just a little bit too far back and I think it was mainly because of that. But overall, happy to get a fifth-place finish for this No. 9 NAPA Chevy team.”
Elliott is fifth in the Cup Series driver points standings, 80 points behind the leader, Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.
Start / Finish: 18 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 5th / 543 pts. (-80)
Next Race: Saturday, June 28, EchoPark Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 7:00 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN or SiriusXM
NAPA: @NAPARacing
Chase Elliott: @ChaseElliott
Hendrick Motorsports: @TeamHendrick
No. 9 Team: @Hendrick9Team
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 (15), points-paying race victories (320) and laps led (more than 85,000). It has earned at least one race win in a record 41 different seasons, including an active streak of 40 in a row (1986-2025). Headquartered on more than 150 acres in Concord, North Carolina, the team fields four full-time Chevrolet entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet driven by 2020 champion Chase Elliott.