Elliott Captures the Victory at Martinsville

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 UniFirst team qualified 10th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
• The 30-year-old driver finished the first stage in 12th and followed that up with a 14th-place finish in stage two.
• During the final stage, Elliott was running ninth when crew chief Alan Gustafson made the call to pit early. Fresh tires put Elliott on offense, and he quickly made up ground. He cycled to the lead and was scored second at the time of a caution on lap 311.
• Elliott remained in the top three from there, and after the last caution of the race came out on lap 324, he cleared for the lead on the restart and didn’t look back, earning his 22nd career Cup Series victory.
• It was Elliott’s second Cup Series win at Martinsville and his first points-paying victory of the season.
• Elliott moved up to fourth in the Cup Series points standings. He is now 104 markers behind the leader.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 UniFirst team qualified 10th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. When the green flag dropped, Elliott battled for ninth but got stuck in the outside lane and settled into 13th. On the long, green-flag run, the 30-year-old driver regained some ground. He advanced to 11th before ultimately ending the first stage in 12th.

During the stage break, Elliott reported that the No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet was “swingy.” Crew chief Alan Gustafson made the call for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. A fast stop by the team put Elliott 10th for the choose. He opted for the inside of row six, taking the green flag for stage two in 11th on lap 96. He was in the same position when the yellow flag was displayed on lap 105. Staying out, Elliott lined up 13th for the restart after choosing the preferred bottom lane. From there, Elliott continued to run inside the top 15, with the remainder of the stage going caution-free. He took the green-and-white checkered flag to end stage two in 14th on lap 180.

Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott reported positive feedback on the No. 9 UniFirst Chevy’s balance. After pitting for four tires and fuel, he lined up 11th to start the final stage on lap 193. Elliott gained positions early, running in eighth for several laps before dropping to ninth on lap 247. He remained there until Gustafson made the call to short-pit on lap 262. Elliott returned to the track on fresher tires than the rest of the field and quickly gained ground. Eventually, others began visiting pit road, which put Elliott as the leader at the end of the pit cycle on lap 293. He held on with his older tires until the No. 11 of Denny Hamlin made the pass for the top spot on lap 309. The strategy call paid off for Elliott and the No. 9 team when a caution came out on lap 311. Elliott was the second car off pit road following his pit stop but restarted third due to one car opting to stay out. Shortly after the field returned to green, the race was slowed for a multi-car incident on lap 324. Elliott was scored in second at the time of the yellow. He lined up on the outside of the first row for the restart and cleared for the lead on lap 334. Elliott continued to lead while working his way through lap traffic in the closing laps, ultimately taking the checkered flag for his 22nd career Cup Series win.

“It was definitely a team effort. That was awesome,” Elliott said after the win. “We’ve never had a win this early in the season. Just a really great team effort. So proud of Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the whole No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet team. They did a great job all day.

“We took a gamble. We were going to two-stop that last stage. I honestly think it was going to work out good for us either way. Just so proud of this team. Man, they put up with a lot (smiling). They have to put up with me all the time, and I just appreciate them for sticking with me. It’s lot of fun when days like this work out. Thank you to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, Mr. Hendrick, Chevrolet and all of our partners for the support.”

Elliott is now fourth in the Cup Series points standings, 104 markers behind the leader.

Start / Finish: 10 / 1
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 249 pts. (-104)

Next Race: Sunday, April 12, Bristol Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1, SiriusXM or PRN

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