Elliott Drives to Top-10 Finish at Phoenix Raceway

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified sixth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.
• The 29-year-old driver finished stage one in ninth and stage two in 15th.
• In the final stage, Elliott drove from outside the top 15 to score a 10th-place result.
• He now sits fifth in the Cup Series points standings, 41 markers behind the leader.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified sixth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. This marked the first race of the season where NASCAR utilized two compounds of tires – yellow primary tires and two sets of a softer option tire per team. The No. 9 team opted to start on primary tires. When the green flag waved for the 312-lap event, Elliott held strong inside the top 10, running in seventh when the first caution of the race came out on lap five. Under the yellow, he relayed to crew chief Alan Gustafson that he didn’t have a lot of grip. Elliott restarted seventh on lap 10 but another incident brought out the yellow quickly after the field took the green. Once the race was back underway, the 29-year-old driver continued to turn laps inside the top 10, ultimately finishing stage one in ninth on lap 60.

Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott reported that his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet never gained lateral grip. The team opted to make a chassis adjustment during its pit stop for four primary tires and fuel. A fast stop gained Elliott two spots on pit road, putting him in seventh to start the second stage. With some teams opting to utilize the faster, soft option tires, it was hard for Elliott to maintain his position. He was scored in 15th when a caution came out on lap 92. After pitting for four primary tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, he lined up 12th for the restart. Once Elliott was able to turn a good amount of green-flag laps, he relayed that his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy was much better. Despite the improvement in handling, Elliott couldn’t make much headway and he was scored in 15th when the green-and-white checkered flag waved on lap 185.

During the stage break, Elliott brought his Chevy to pit road for his first set of soft option tires and fuel. He took the green flag for the final stage in 14th on lap 195 and gained one position before the race fell under caution for an incident with 97 laps to go. Under the yellow, Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for a fresh set of primary tires and fuel. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native restarted 13th with 89 laps remaining. During the long green flag run, he faded to 18th before the team made a strategy call to pit for the second set of soft option tires. Just a few laps after Elliott made his pit stop, a caution came out, trapping him a lap down. Opting not to pit, the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet was able to take the wave around to get back on the lead lap. From there, Elliott steadily gained positions in the final laps of the race to earn a 10th-place finish.

The top-10 result helped Elliott remain in the top five in the Cup Series points standings. He sits in the fifth spot, just 41 points behind the leader.

Start / Finish: 6 / 10
Points Standing / Total: 5th / 124 pts. (-41)

Next Race: Sunday, March 16, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: FS1, PRN or SiriusXM

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