Elliott Notches Top-10 Finish at Darlington

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 UniFirst team qualified 15th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway.
• Elliott finished stage one in 23rd after the team had a lengthy pit stop. He rebounded to finish 12th in stage two.
• In the final stage, Elliott raced inside the top 10 and ultimately took the checkered flag in eighth.
• The 29-year-old driver is fourth in the Cup Series standings, 59 points behind the leader.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 UniFirst team started Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway from the 15th position. He was still running there when the first caution came out on lap four. Staying out, the 29-year-old driver lined up 12th for the lap nine restart. He was racing inside the top 10 when the race was slowed again by a caution on lap 24. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for four tires and fuel under the yellow, but an issue on pit road dropped him just outside the top 20 for the restart. Stuck in traffic, Elliott tried to make forward progress but was unable to break back into the top 20. He was scored in 23rd when a yellow flag waved on lap 82. After pitting for four tires and fuel, he restarted 23rd and finished the first stage in the same position on lap 90.

During the stage break, Elliott visited pit road for another four-tire stop. He remained outside the top 20 for the first portion of stage two, running 22nd when green-flag pit stops began around lap 131. The team opted to remain on the track, a strategy that paid off when a caution came out on lap 138 with Elliott running fifth. After pitting under the yellow, the team suspected a loose left-front wheel, prompting Elliott to return to pit road for the crew to tighten the lug nut. He restarted 15th on lap 143 and advanced to 12th by the end of stage two on lap 185.

Under the stage-ending caution, the team made a quick stop for four tires and fuel. Elliott lined up 11th for the restart and was scored in 10th when another caution came out on lap 195. He worked his way up to eighth before teams started visiting pit road under green. Elliott came to pit road on lap 244 for four tires and fuel, cycling back inside the top 10. He was battling for sixth when a caution with four laps to go sent the race into overtime. Elliott was the sixth car off pit road and took the final green flag from the inside of the third row. He battled hard in the final two laps and ultimately took the checkered flag in eighth.

Leaving Darlington, Elliott sits fourth in the Cup Series standings. He now has five top-10 finishes through the first eight races of the season.

Start / Finish: 15 / 8
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 256 pts. (-59)

Next Race: Sunday, April 13, Bristol Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN or SiriusXM

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