Elliott Earns Hard-Fought Top-15 Result at Darlington

• With weather in the area canceling practice and qualifying at Darlington Raceway for the NASCAR Cup Series, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team started Sunday’s race in 18th.
• In the first stage, Elliott improved to 12th and followed that up with another 12th-place result in stage two.
• Throughout the race, Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet showed speed but was suffering from a tough-handling condition while in traffic. The team made gains throughout the final stage, and Elliott was in the top 10 late in the race when a light rain shower put the race under the red flag. Once the rain stopped, the team joined several others on pit road for final pit stops. Unfortunately, a miscommunication resulted in a longer stop for the team. Elliott restarted from 20th and advanced to 14th to end the race.
• Heading into the second race of The Chase, Elliott is tied for eighth in the standings, 72 points out of first.

With weather in the area canceling practice and qualifying at Darlington Raceway for the NASCAR Cup Series, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team started Sunday’s race in 18th. During the opening run, Elliott advanced as high as 14th and was scored in 15th when the competition caution came out on lap 35. He relayed to his team that the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet turned pretty well, but that he’d like to have the back locked down more. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to help the handling. He restarted from the 14th position on lap 41 and was running in 16th when green-flag pit stops got underway on lap 71. Prior to visiting pit road on lap 79 for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment, Elliott reported that his Chevrolet’s handling was tighter with the front end, but he still had the same issues with the rear end as he had the previous run. Following the pit stop, Elliott returned to the track in 23rd and was up to 12th when the caution came out for an incident on lap 107. With the yellow flag being displayed with less than 10 laps remaining in stage one, the caution marked the end of the stage.

During the stage break, Elliott brought the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet to the attention of his crew for four fresh tires and fuel. A fast stop allowed him to be ninth to choose his lane for the restart, opting for the outside of row five. The green flag waved for stage two on lap 114, and Elliott quickly improved to seventh. As the run went on, he faded to 10th prior to the start of green-flag pit stops on lap 143. Gustafson called Elliott in on lap 149 for four tires, fuel and an adjustment. He was back up to ninth on lap 153 and was running in 11th when another round of pit stops got underway on lap 187. Elliott visited pit road on lap 191 for fuel, four tires and another adjustment to try to improve the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy’s handling. He returned to the track in 15th before ultimately ending stage two in 12th.

With handling still an issue on the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, especially when in traffic, the team opted to make another adjustment during its pit stop for four tires and fuel under the stage-ending caution. Elliott restarted inside the top 10 and had lost some ground, but was still running inside the top 15 when he reported that the handling was similar to the run before. When another round of green-flag pit stops began, Gustafson took the opportunity to call Elliott in for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment on lap 282. Just after the stop, an incident brought out the caution flag. With a fresh set of tire on his Chevrolet, Elliott remained on the track while seven other teams decided to pit. That allowed him to restart inside the top 10 on lap 290. He continued to race inside the top 12 and was scored in 10th when another yellow flag was displayed on lap 316. Elliott restarted from the outside of row five on lap 331 and powered his way to seventh before a light shower at the track brought the race to a temporary halt on lap 338. Once the red flag was lifted, several teams, including the No. 9, opted to visit pit road. Unfortunately, a miscommunication resulted in a longer pit stop and cost the team valuable track position. Elliott restarted in 20th on lap 344 and pressed forward, driving to a 14th-place finish.

Heading into the second race of The Chase next weekend, Elliott is tied for eighth in points, 72 behind the leader.

Start / Finish: 18 / 14
Points Standing / Total: 9th / 2,063 pts. (-72)

Next Race: Sunday, September 13, WWT Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on USA, SiriusXM or MRN

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