Elliott Collects First Career Cup Series Darlington Top-Five Finish
Chase Elliott raced his No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to a fifth-place finish Sunday night’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Elliott and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team started 11th and gained two positions early in the opening segment to move into ninth by Lap 23. The 22-year-old driver continued to race around the top ten for the vast majority of Stage 1, finishing the opening 100-lap segment in tenth to earn one stage point.
Elliott took the green flag for Stage 2 in tenth and maintained his top-ten position throughout the opening laps. Running ninth when a caution flag waved at Lap 129, Elliott gained four positions on pit road to jump up to fifth for the ensuing restart on Lap 135. The No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS team continued to race inside the top ten for most of the middle segment as Elliot took the second green-checkered flag in fourth to earn seven stage points.
In the final segment, Elliott climbed up to second place and maintained the runner-up position until heading to pit road for a green-flag stop with less than 110 laps to go. He returned to the track outside of the top five as several competitors utilized a different pit strategy, but Elliott regained his second-place spot on Lap 288.
Holding the second position, Elliott was on pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop when a caution flag waved on Lap 312. As a result, Elliott had to take a wave-around to rejoin the lead lap. He lined up fifth for the ensuing restart with 45 laps to go.
As the laps wound down, Elliott continued to battle inside the top ten and ended the night with a fifth-place finish. The effort was the NAPA AUTO PARTS team’s eighth top-five finish through 25 races this season.
Start / Finish: 11 / 5
Points Earned: 40
Points Standing / Total: 11th / 737 pts.
Next Race: September 9, Brickyard 400, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
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 (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.