Elliott Finishes 31st after Tough Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

• On Saturday, Chase Elliott posted the fourth-fastest lap in NASCAR Cup Series practice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, he was forced to go to a backup car after his right-rear tire went down during Group A’s practice session and his LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 made contact with the outside wall.

• The 27-year-old driver started Sunday’s 267-lap race from the 35th position. Elliott and the No. 9 LLumar team made progress throughout the race, finishing 29th in stage one and 22nd in stage two. 

• Elliott worked his way inside the top 20 in the final stage. Following a late-race restart, he was posted for a restart violation and had to serve a pass-through penalty. The 2020 Cup Series champion went a lap down in the process and was ultimately scored with a 31st-place finish.

• The No. 9 LLumar team is currently eighth in the owner point standings, 60 markers below the elimination line to advance to the Championship 4 in the owner playoffs.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 LLumar team unloaded a fast Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 27-year-old driver posted the fourth-fastest lap overall during Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice, but he cut a right-rear tire roughly halfway through Group A’s session. His No. 9 Chevrolet made contact with the outside wall and the damage was severe enough that the team was forced to go to a backup car. 

Elliott started Sunday’s 267-lap race from the 35th position. He and the team knew they would have their work cut out for them as it was difficult to pass in traffic at the 1.5-mile track. Elliott steadily gained position throughout the opening portion of the first stage, running as high as 29th before green-flag pit stops got underway on lap 32. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road on lap 35 for four tires and fuel. Once green-flag stops cycled through, the No. 9 team was one of several that were trapped a lap down. Elliott caught a break when the first caution of the race came out on lap 66. Gustafson opted to have his driver take the wave around to get back on the lead lap. The 2020 Cup Series champion restarted just inside the top 30 on lap 71 and took the green-and-white checkered flag in 29th to end stage one.

During the stage break. Elliott brought the LLumar Chevrolet to the attention of his crew for four tires, fuel and an adjustment. He took the green flag for stage two from 28th on lap 86 and worked his way inside the top 25 by lap 100. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native was running in that same position when an incident brought out the yellow flag on lap 112. After pitting for four tires and fuel, Elliott restarted from the 24th position. He had momentum on the restart, initially driving up to 21st. At the time of the lap-146 caution, Elliott was running in 27th. Gustafson radioed for him to come to pit road for four tires and fuel. He was scored in 27th for the restart and drove back up inside the top 25 to score a 22nd-place finish in stage two. 

Under the stage-ending caution, the team opted to pit for four fresh tires and fuel. Elliott lined up in 23rd to start the final stage on lap 171. He continued to try to make forward progress and was in 22nd when the caution came out on lap 211. After a fast pit stop for four tires and fuel, Elliott restarted from inside the top 20 for the first time of the day. He took the green flag from 19th and was scored in 17th when another yellow flag was displayed just a couple laps later. Staying out, Elliott restarted in 17th on lap 223 and improved his position to 16th before he was posted for a restart violation and was given a pass-through penalty. After serving the penalty, the five-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver was scored a lap down in the 32nd position. With the remainder of the race going caution-free, Elliott was unable to get his lap back and was ultimately scored with a 31st-place finish.

Following the opening race of the Round of 8 in the owner playoffs, the No. 9 team is eighth in the standings, 60 points below the elimination line to advance to the Championship 4.

Start / Finish: 35 / 31
Points Standing / Total: 17th / 758 pts. (-3326)

Next Race: Sunday, October 22, Homestead-Miami Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN or SiriusXM

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