Elliott, NAPA Team Collect Top-Ten Finish at Michigan
Chase Elliott earned his seventh top-ten finish in eight career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway with a ninth-place result in Sunday’s race.
Elliott started the race from the sixth position and maintained that position until Lap 36 when he made his way to pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop for right-side tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. As the final laps of the stage clicked away, the NAPA driver was able to keep his top-ten position and finish Stage 1 in ninth.
During the stage break, the NAPA AUTO PARTS team visited pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. Elliott lined up for the Stage 2 green flag in 15th. He ran inside the top 15 for the majority of the stage until heading to pit road for a fuel-only stop. When a caution came out just before the end of the stage, the NAPA team opted not to pit and restarted sixth. He held that spot through the green-checkered flag.
The NAPA team restarted 18th for the final segment after pitting for four tires and fuel during the break. Elliott wasted no time maneuvering through the field as he quickly made his way up to 11th. When a caution flag waved on Lap 137, the No. 9 driver stayed on track and was scored tenth. When another yellow flag waved on Lap 149, Elliott came to the attention of his NAPA team for four tires and fuel and lined up ninth for what would be the race’s final restart at Lap 153. With 35 laps left in the race, crew chief Alan Gustafson radioed to Elliott to start to saving fuel.
At Lap 183, Elliott was just shy of the top five in sixth as he continued to save fuel to make it to the finish line. When the checkered flag waved, the No. 9 NAPA Chevy had fallen one spot but was able to end the day with a top-ten result in ninth.
The result gives Elliott his seventh top-ten finish in eight career starts at the two-mile track.
Start / Finish: 6 / 9
Points Earned: 35
Points Standing / Total: 7th / 711 pts.
Next Race: August 17, Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
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 (312) and laps led (more than 82,000). It has earned at least one race win in a record 40 different seasons, including an active streak of 39 in a row (1986-2024). 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 driven by 2020 champion Chase Elliott.