Elliott Battles to a Strong, Fourth-Place Finish at Martinsville
- Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified second for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
- Elliott led laps in each of the first two stages, finishing seventh in stage one and second in stage two.
- In the final stage, the 29-year-old driver remained in the top 10, ultimately taking the checkered flag in fourth place.
- The strong points day helped Elliott climb to third in the driver standings, just 32 points behind leader and Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified second for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. Elliott quickly made his presence known by taking the lead on lap 24. He held onto the top spot until a debris caution on lap 32. After pitting for four tires, fuel and small adjustments, Elliott restarted in ninth with 41 laps remaining in stage one. From there, he worked his way up to fifth place with 15 laps to go in the stage. In a strategic move to maintain track position for the second stage, the team decided to pit for four tires and fuel when another caution came out on lap 72. Elliott finished stage one in seventh place.
The 2020 Cup Series champion took the green flag for stage two in second place and reclaimed the lead on lap 93. Elliott continued to pace the field until the next yellow flag on lap 123. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called him to pit road under caution for fresh tires and fuel. Elliott was the first car off pit road, but with some teams opting not to pit, he restarted in eighth place with 49 laps remaining in stage two. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native made quick work of the cars ahead of him, finishing the second stage in the runner-up position.
After another pit stop for four tires and fuel, Elliott started the final stage from second place on lap 194. When a caution came out on lap 202, the team opted to stay out, allowing Elliott to maintain his position. He continued to run second until lap 276, when an incident slowed the race once again. The No. 9 team pitted for the final time under caution, and Elliott restarted in fifth with 114 laps left in the race. He remained consistent, managing the final laps and avoiding trouble despite additional cautions. Elliott took the checkered flag in fourth place, earning a total of 46 valuable points for the day.
“We got a little behind there,” Elliott said. “I wish I could have gotten Denny (Hamlin) in the second stage. We really, really needed control there. When you get into the second half of these races, it just gets so hard to make ground up. You saw that with Christopher (Bell) pressuring Denny. It just means a lot to have control, and unfortunately, I couldn’t get that back for us. But overall, it was a really good effort by this No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet team.”
The driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet advanced to third in the Cup Series driver standings, just 32 points behind leader and Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.
Start / Finish: 2 / 4
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 227 pts. (-32)
Next Race: Sunday, April 6, Darlington Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN 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 (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.