Elliott Finishes 10th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified third for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
- After receiving a blend line violation during green-flag pit stops, Elliott recovered to finish 17th in stage one. He followed that up with a runner-up effort in stage two.
- In the final stage, multiple strategies came into play. In a double-overtime finish, Elliott took the checkered flag in the 10th position.
- The result was the 11th top-10 finish this season for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
- Elliott is second in the regular season standings, only 10 markers behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, who won Sunday’s event.
Unloading a fast No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 team qualified third for Sunday’s Brickyard 400. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion took the green flag for the crown jewel event from the second row. He advanced to second place by lap seven and was informed that he was faster than the leader. Holding steady in the second spot, Chase reported to crew chief Alan Gustafson that he felt the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet’s handling was in a decent place. On lap 25, the team made it’s first green-flag pit stop of the day for four tires and fuel. Following the stop, Elliott was informed that he received a blend line violation. He was forced to serve a pass-through penalty, which put him deep in the field and resulted in the team changing its approach for the remainder of the race. With teams on varying strategies, the pit cycle lasted for several laps. Elliott was able to improve to 17th to end stage one on lap 50.
During the stage break, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native reported that his NAPA Chevrolet was tight that far back in traffic. The team opted for an adjustment to free up the No. 9 Camaro when pitting for four tires and fuel. Elliott was 22nd to choose his lane to start stage two, opting for the inside line. The field went back to green on lap 56, and Elliott advanced his position to 18th before a caution came out on lap 69. Staying out under the yellow flag while several teams pitted, Elliott lined up on the inside of row three for the lap 74 restart. Another incident brought out the caution almost immediately. Elliott was scored in the fourth spot and was third to choose after a car ahead of him opted to pit. Taking the outside lane, he lined up on the front row for the restart on lap 79. Elliott battled side-by-side for the lead but ultimately had to settle for second to end the second stage on lap 100.
After pitting for four tires and fuel, he lined up just outside the top 20 to start the final stage on lap 105. He managed to climb to 18th before the caution flag waved just one lap later. Staying out, he was 17th to choose, opting for the inside. Another incident brought out the yellow flag shortly after the field went back to green. Remaining on the track, Elliott was scored in the ninth position for the lap-115 restart. Getting a good run, he advanced to fifth in a hurry. On lap 121, the cars ahead of him began to visit pit road. Elliott took over the lead on lap 123 and was called to pit road the very next lap. Just as Elliott arrived in his pit stall, the caution flag came out for an on-track incident. The team finished its stop for four tires and fuel and sent Elliott back out on the track. He restarted 19th on lap 130 and was up to 15th by lap 154. The yellow flag waved with just two laps to go, sending the race into overtime. Elliott was 14th at the time of the caution and lined up 11th for the overtime restart after staying out. He was 10th when a multi-car incident resulted in another caution. With a lot of cleanup required, officials opted to red flag the race. Once the red flag was lifted, Elliott chose the bottom lane for the second attempt at overtime. He was warned that several cars were short on fuel. After the restart, a car spun and was ultimately unable to get going. The yellow was displayed after the leader took the white flag, so the race would end under caution. Elliott was scored with a 10th-place finish.
The result was Elliott’s 11th top-10 finish of the season. The 28-year-old driver is second in the regular season points standings, just 10 markers behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson.
Start / Finish: 3 / 10
Points Standing / Total: 2nd / 739 pts. (-10)
Next Race: Sunday, August 11, Richmond Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 6:00 p.m. ET on USA, MRN or SiriusXM
NAPA: @NAPARacing
Chase Elliott: @ChaseElliott
Hendrick Motorsports: @TeamHendrick
No. 9 Team: @Hendrick9Team
Hendrick Motorsports View All
Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest team in NASCAR Cup Series history. At the sport’s premier level, the organization holds the all-time records in every major statistical category, including championships (14), points-paying race victories (308) and laps led (over 80,000). Headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, the team fields four full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by 2020 champion Chase Elliott.