Elliott Leads Laps, Earns Top-Five Finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified seventh for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• Elliott proved his strength early, finishing third in stage one and following it up with a second-place finish in stage two.
• He led a total of 81 laps en route to a fifth-place result in the 267-lap race.
• The 28-year-old driver leaves Homestead-Miami eighth in the playoff standings, 43 points below the elimination line with just one race remaining in the Round of 8.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team started Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway from the seventh position. Elliott was scored in eighth when the caution flag waved for an incident on lap one. After restarting from the fourth row on lap five, Elliott began his surge forward, climbing to fifth by lap 10. He was running in third when the first round of green-flag pit stops got under way. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott in on lap 33 for four fresh tires and fuel. He returned to the track in the 18th position and cycled to the lead once green-flag pit stops were complete on lap 44. Just a few laps later, the caution flag was displayed and Elliott visited pit road for another set of fresh tires. He won the battle off pit road, but some cars opted not to pit, placing Elliott in the fifth position for the lap-53 restart. He battled side-by-side for the second position for several laps before ending stage one in the third position on lap 80.

Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott brought his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to pit road for fuel and four fresh tires. He started the second stage from the inside of row two and powered to the lead on lap 88. The 28-year-old driver maintained his position out front until he visited pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 116 for four tires, fuel and an adjustment. Elliott retook the lead on lap 128 and held point until the No. 11 made the pass with less than 10 laps remaining in stage two. When the green-and-white checkered flag waved on lap 165, Elliott was scored with a second-place finish.

During the stage break, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts crew completed a fast pit stop that helped Elliott win the battle off pit road. He took the green flag for the final stage from the top spot on lap 172 and engaged in a battle for the lead over the course of multiple laps. He was out front when the caution flag was displayed on lap 186. After pitting for four tires and fuel, Elliott was the second driver off of pit road. He restarted from the front row on lap 191 and raced hard but was unable to take over the lead. He settled into the second position during the long green-flag run and headed to pit road on lap 220 for a scheduled pit stop. He was back up to third on lap 230 with one car ahead of him left to pit. As the run went on, the handling on the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet began to go away, and Elliott faded to sixth on lap 251. He was running in the same position when the caution came out with just 12 laps to go. After pitting for four fresh tires, Elliott lined up on the bottom of the second row for the restart. He battled hard in the final laps, ultimately taking the checkered flag in the fifth position.

Despite the impressive effort by Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team, they remain eighth in the Cup Series playoff standings, 43 markers below the elimination line with just one race left in the Round of 8.

Chase Elliott on the Homestead-Miami Playoff Race

You led the most laps that you’ve ever led at Homestead-Miami Speedway. What did you need to battle for the win.. were you fighting tight conditions there at the end?
“I just got tighter and tighter as the day went on. I was just trying to manage that on the front side of a run, and ultimately, I just didn’t do a great job of managing it. When the pace got quicker and everyone started pushing, I didn’t really have anything left to push.

It was a really solid couple of weeks for the No. 9 NAPA Chevy team, from a pace perspective. That’s encouraging as you move along in the playoffs.”

You’ve run so well at Martinsville Speedway in the past. How confident are you going into the elimination race.
“Very confident.”

Start / Finish: 7 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 8th / 4, 067 pts. (-65)

Next Race: Sunday, November 3, Martinsville Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 2:00 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN or SiriusXM

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