Elliott, No. 9 Team Finish Seventh at Bristol

• Chase Elliott qualified his No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the seventh position for Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• The 2020 Cup Series champion finished 12th in stage one and 10th in stage two before ultimately taking the checkered flag in the seventh position.
• The No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team advanced out of the Round of 16 in the owner playoffs. The team enters the Round of 12 in 12th, 13 points below the elimination line.

After rain delayed the start of Saturday evening’s NASCAR Cup Series race, Chase Elliott rolled off the grid from the seventh position. Early in the race, Elliott got caught in the outside lane and lost several positions. He was scored in the 16th position when the first caution of the race came out for a multi-car incident on lap 69. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called the 27-year-old driver to pit road for four tires and fuel. With a handful of cars opting not to pit, Elliott was scored in 19th for the lap-76 restart and was up to 16th when light rain returned to the track, bringing out the caution. Once the mist faded, pit road opened for teams to service their cars. Elliott and the No. 9 team opted to stay out in an effort to gain track position. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native restarted in 11th place on lap 113 and took the green-and-white checkered flag to end stage one in the 12th position at lap 125.  

During the stage break, Gustafson made the call to have Elliott stay out on the track. The strategy helped Elliott secure a top-10 starting position for stage two. He was the fifth car in the running order and chose the inside lane, putting him on the inside of the second row. Before the race returned to green, another light rain shower enveloped the track, bringing out the red flag. Once the weather cleared and the track dried, cars returned to the track. The field returned to racing on lap 140 and Elliott held strong inside the top 10. The 2020 Cup Series champion was scored in ninth at lap 200 and battled hard as the stage went caution-free, with Elliott ending it in the 10th position at lap 250.

Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott reported that his No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was free that run. When he brought his Chevy to the attention of his crew, they equipped it with four fresh tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Elliott took the green flag for the final stage on lap 260 from just outside the top 10 and was scored in 13th when an incident brought out the caution the very next lap. Once back under green, Elliott continued to run inside the top 15 and was up to 11th when the final caution of the race came out on lap 362. A fast stop for four tires and fuel by the NAPA Auto Parts crew gained Elliott two positions on pit road. The Hendrick Motorsports driver restarted in ninth on lap 370 and picked up two more spots by lap 372. That is where Elliott would stay for the remainder of Saturday night’s race, ultimately taking the checkered flag in the seventh position.

The result was Elliott’s 13th top-10 finish of the season and secured the No. 9 team a spot in the Round of 12 of the owner playoffs. Next week, the team heads to Texas Motor Speedway as the 12th seed, 13 points below the elimination line.

Start / Finish: 7 / 7
Points Standing / Total: 18th / 631 pts. (-2,405)

Next Race: Sunday, Sept. 24, Texas Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN or SiriusXM

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