Elliott Earns Stage Win in Daytona 500

• Chase Elliott started the Daytona 500 from the fifth position after earning a second-place finish in the first of two Duels on Thursday at Daytona International Speedway
• The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion claimed the stage one victory, earning a coveted playoff point
• Elliott narrowly missed a multicar incident late in the final stage, which resulted in a red flag, and he made a charge for the front before ultimately finishing the 500-mile race 14th
• The driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 leaves Daytona fourth in the Cup Series points standings

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team started fifth in Monday’s Daytona 500, which had been postponed due to rain. Elliott earned the top-five starting position after finishing second in the first of two Duel qualifying races on Thursday evening. It didn’t take long for the first caution of Monday’s race to occur. The field was slowed at lap six for a multicar incident deeper in the field. Elliott pitted from the sixth position for fuel only and restarted inside the top 10 on lap 12. The driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 continued to run in the bottom lane before making moves to take over the lead for the first time of the race on lap 45. He held point for multiple laps before bringing his Chevrolet to the attention of his crew for a few seconds worth of fuel. Elliott returned to the track and battled hard in the closing laps to win the first stage of the race.

Under the stage-ending caution, crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. Elliott lined up inside the top 10 to start the second stage on lap 70 and the field went three-wide early in the run. The 28-year-old driver eventually moved to the top lane to try to gain some ground after the inside lane he had been running in lost momentum. Elliott regained some track position after a pit stop for fuel on lap 115. He ran as high as second before his lane began to fade and he finished the second stage in 19th. 

The Dawsonville, Georgia, native came to pit road twice during the stage break, first for four tires and fuel and then he returned to top off the tank. He took the green flag for the final stage on lap 137 from the 24th position and worked his way up inside the top 20, where he spent much of the remainder of the race. Elliott pitted from the sixth position on lap 183 and was scored in fifth after a multicar incident brought out the red flag with eight laps to go. The NAPA Chevy received only minor damage as Elliott miraculously worked his way through the melee. Opting not to pit once the red flag was lifted, Elliott lined up in the top lane for the restart with four laps remaining. Elliott was determined to battle for the win, but ultimately finished 14th after he got shuffled out of the preferred lane and lost ground to the leaders.

Elliott and the No. 9 team leave Daytona fourth in the Cup Series points standings.

“I made a mistake there on the last lap and not sure I would have got to the front row, but certainly would have been a better finish for us,” Elliott said. “I hate that because we had a solid day otherwise. Happy for William (Byron) to kick off the 40th year of Hendrick Motorsports with the win.”

Start / Finish: 5 / 14
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 42 pts.

Next Race: Sunday, February 25, Atlanta Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN or SiriusXM

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