Elliott Finishes Seventh at Las Vegas

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified 13th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• Elliott climbed his way inside the top 10 during the opening stage before ultimately ending it in the 14th position. He rebounded to earn valuable stage points in stage two with a seventh-place result.
• In the final stage, Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet continued to show speed. After the final round of green-flag pit stops, he battled inside the top 10, taking the checkered flag in seventh.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified 13th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Elliott spent the opening laps running inside the top 15 before advancing to the top 10 on lap 22. Shortly after, he relayed positive feedback regarding the handling of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, saying it felt pretty good but was a little free. He continued to improve his position on the track, reaching eighth before the first round of green-flag pit stops got underway on lap 33. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel on lap 36. He cycled back up to eighth just prior to the caution coming out for an incident on lap 44. The timing of the caution created a variety of strategies among teams, with the No. 9 crew opting not to pit. Elliott lined up for the restart from the second row on lap 50 and continued to run inside the top 10 before fading on his older tires, ultimately ending the stage in 14th on lap 80.

Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott reported that the No. 9 NAPA Chevy’s balance was similar to earlier runs. He visited pit road for four tires and fuel before starting the second stage in ninth on lap 88. Unfortunately, the 30-year-old driver lost momentum, dropping to 12th prior to a caution on lap 93. The team opted to pit for right-side tires and fuel. Elliott restarted 19th on lap 99 and lost some ground on the restart. His Chevrolet started to come to him as the run went on. He improved from 24th to 11th before green-flag pit stops began on lap 125. Along with a handful of other teams, the No. 9 team decided to remain on track instead of pitting under green. Elliott reached as high as second on lap 139. Ultimately, as the end of the stage grew closer, his right-front tire started getting pretty worn, which allowed a few cars to work their way by. Elliott still managed to earn valuable stage points, taking the green-and-white checkered flag in the seventh position on lap 165.

A fast four-tire stop by the No. 9 crew allowed Elliott to start the final stage from the second row. He continued to run inside the top five in the opening laps of the stage. He relayed to Gustafson that he could use the back of his Chevrolet locked down some more. As a long green-flag run ensued, Elliott maintained a top-10 running position. He was running eighth when green-flag pit stops began on lap 213. Just a few laps later, Elliott brought his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet to the attention of his crew for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. He returned to the eighth position on lap 233 and improved one more spot to finish the race in the seventh position. It was Elliott’s second consecutive top-10 result.

“I thought our No. 9 NAPA Chevy was, honestly, pretty good most of the day,” Elliott remarked after the race. “We ran long with the No. 2 (Austin Cindric) there and the right-front came apart. For whatever reason, after that, I just kept getting looser and looser. I just kind of faded back a little bit at the end. But overall, I thought it was a pretty solid day. It’s nice to have two solid days back-to-back for this team. There were some high spots in there. I thought our car did some really good things at different times throughout the day. I had some good feels at different points, and it was definitely something that we can build off of.”

With five races remaining in The Chase, Elliott sits 13th in the standings.

Start / Finish: 13 / 7
Points Standing / Total: 13th / 2,155 pts. (-163)

Next Race: Sunday, October 11, Charlotte Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on USA, SiriusXM or PRN

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