Elliott Earns Top-12 Finish at Las Vegas

• Chase Elliott and No. 9 LLumar team qualified 11th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• The 28-year-old driver finished 15th in stage one and advanced to sixth to end stage two, earning valuable stage points in the process
• The 2020 Cup Series champion continued to log laps inside the top 10 in the final stage before ultimately taking the checkered flag in the 12th position
• Elliott and the No. 9 team leave Las Vegas seventh in the Cup Series points standings

Chase Elliott took the green flag in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from the 11th position in his No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. When the first caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 10, Elliott was running in the same position. Under the yellow flag, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native reported that his entry was secure before bringing the LLumar Chevy to the attention of his crew for four tires and fuel. During the next run, Elliott continued to battle inside the top 12. He was scored in 11th when the race fell under the caution for the second time on lap 27. Elliott reported to crew chief Alan Gustafson that his Chevrolet was a little tight. Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for fuel and a set of scuff tires. With a couple teams opting not to pit and some only taking two tires, Elliott restarted in 17th. He gained two positions before taking the green-and-white checkered flag in 15th to end the first stage at lap 80.

A fast stop by the pit crew set Elliott up with 12th-place starting position for stage two. After taking the green flag on lap 88, Elliott continued to race inside the top 15 through a long green flag run. After a round of green flag pit stops, the 2020 Cup Series champion found himself in the 11th position. Once there, he continued to methodically work his way forward, advancing to ninth on lap 134. Elliott was running in that same position when the caution came out on lap 156. After pitting for four tires and fuel, he lined up eighth for the restart and climbed to sixth to end the second stage at lap 165.

Opting not to pit during the stage break, Elliott started the final segment in sixth on lap 172. The 28-year-old driver held his own inside the top 10 during a long green flag stint. Elliott was running in the 10th position when green flag stops got under way. He headed to pit road for four tires and fuel on lap 211. When an on-track incident brought out the yellow flag on lap 235, Elliott was scored in the eighth position. He brought his LLumar Chevy to the attention of his crew for the final time of the race, getting four fresh tires and fuel. He restarted in seventh on lap 240 and battled hard to try to keep a position inside the top 10, ultimately coming up just short with a 12th-place result.

Elliott and the No. 9 team leave Las Vegas Motor Speedway seventh in the Cup Series points standings, just 23 markers behind the leader.

Start / Finish: 11 / 12
Points Standing / Total: 7th / 95 pts. (-23)

Next Race: Sunday, March 10, Phoenix Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN or SiriusXM

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