Elliott Earns Top-Five Finish at Talladega Superspeedway

• With rain washing out qualifying on Saturday, the starting lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway was set according to the metric. Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Prime Video team started eighth in the 188-lap event.
• Due to a variety of pit strategies in the first stage, the 30-year-old driver finished it in 25th. Elliott followed that up with a ninth-place result in stage two after avoiding a major multi-car incident.
• Elliott spent the entirety of the final stage inside the top eight in the running order, taking the checkered flag in fourth place.
• Elliott leaves Talladega fourth in the Cup Series points standings, 144 markers behind the leader.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Prime Video team started eighth in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway after rain washed out qualifying and the starting order was set according to the metric. The opening stage, which was significantly longer than in previous Cup Series races at the track, brought a mixed bag of strategies. In the early going of the 188-lap race, the field raced three-wide before single- and double-file racing returned. Elliott was running towards the back of the pack when the first round of pit stops got underway on lap 41. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road on lap 45 for four tires and fuel. The driver of the No. 9 Prime Video Chevrolet raced as high as 20th once he returned to the track. He was running just inside the top 30 when some teams started visiting pit road again on lap 68. Elliott remained on the track until pitting on lap 88 for fuel only. With teams on varying strategies, including some not having to pit a second time, Elliott was unable to make much headway, ultimately taking the green-and-white checkered flag in the 25th position on lap 98.

During the stage break, Elliott brought the No. 9 Prime Video Chevrolet to the attention of his pit crew for four tires and fuel. He returned to pit road a second time to top off the tank with fuel. The 2020 Cup Series champion took the green flag for the second stage from the 30th position on lap 105. He was beginning to make progress when a multi-car incident occurred in front of him. While several cars were collected, Elliott was able to navigate through it. Officials put the race under the red flag while cleanup occurred. Once the red flag was lifted and pit road opened, Elliott visited his crew for four fresh tires and fuel. He was sixth to choose his lane for the lap-122 restart, opting for the outside of row four. He continued to battle inside the top 10 until the race was slowed again for an incident on lap 124. After staying out, he restarted from the inside of the fourth row and raced inside the top 12 for the remainder of the stage, ending it in ninth on lap 143.

The No. 9 Prime Video team made its final stop of the race for right-side tires and fuel under the stage-ending caution. Elliott was sixth to choose his position to start the final stage, opting for the outside of row four. The field went back to green-flag racing on lap 151. The 30-year-old driver was scored in sixth when the caution came out for debris on lap 161. He chose the outside of row four for the lap-167 restart. From there, Elliott remained one of the front-runners. He was holding strong in sixth when a stalled vehicle brought out the final caution of the race. Elliott restarted in sixth with just three laps to go and advanced to fourth to end the race.

“It was an okay day for the No. 9 Prime Video Chevrolet team,” Elliott remarked. “You try to do the best you can to execute and put yourself on those first couple of rows. We kept getting really close, but we just lacked a little bit there to put ourselves just one row forward. I think that would have made a big difference for us. Nonetheless, it was a solid day. Super happy for Carson (Hocevar, race winner). He’s been really close many times. Glad to get Team Chevy a win. Between Alex (Bowman) and everyone there on the bottom, I thought we were doing a good job keeping him in it. Happy it worked out for one of us.”

The strong finish helped him gain two positions in the Cup Series standings. Elliott now sits fourth, 144 markers behind the leader.

Start / Finish: 8 / 4
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 340 pts. (-144)

Next Race: Sunday, May 3, Texas Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:30 p.m. on FS1, SiriusXM or PRN

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