Elliott Places 15th at Darlington

• Chase Elliott qualified third for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway.
• The 30-year-old finished the first stage in seventh, earning valuable stage points. He followed that up with a 13th-place finish in stage two.
• In the final stage, Elliott battled a tough handling condition, which dropped him to 20th at one point. He recovered to earn a 15th-place finish.
• Following Darlington, Elliott remains fifth in the Cup Series points standings. He is now 131 markers behind the leader.

Chase Elliott qualified the No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet in the third position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. When the green flag waved on Sunday afternoon, Elliott maintained a position inside the top 10. He was running in seventh when he reported that the No. 9 UniFirst Chevy had a tight handling condition. The first round of green-flag pit stops got underway on lap 37. The team opted to run additional laps prior to pitting on lap 45 for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Elliott was back up to eighth on lap 50 and made a last-lap pass to end the first stage in seventh on lap 90.

Under the stage break, the team made a fast pit stop for four fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, which gained Elliott multiple positions. The 30-year-old driver opted for the inside of the second row to start the second stage. On the restart, Elliott battled to maintain third before settling into the fifth position. He remained there until the caution flag came out for an on-track incident on lap 111. Elliott relayed that his Chevy’s handling was “still a little tight but thought that was better.” After pitting for four tires and fuel, Elliott gained a position on pit road. Fourth to choose his lane, he lined up on the inside of row two for the restart on lap 116. Elliott held strong in the top five over the opening laps of the run before dropping to sixth on lap 124. He was running in eighth when green-flag pit stops began. Again, the team opted to run long to gain a tire advantage. Elliott cycled to the lead prior to pitting on lap 151 for four tires and fuel. He returned to the track in 19th and battled his way to 13th to end the stage on lap 185.

Following a four-tire pit stop by the No. 9 UniFirst team, Elliott was 11th to choose his lane to start the final stage. He took the green flag from the outside of row seven on lap 193 and was running in 14th when the caution flag was displayed on lap 197. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for four tires and fuel. With a few teams opting not to pit, Elliott lined up 15th for the lap-203 restart. He worked his way to 14th on lap 209 but started to fade as the run went on. Elliott relayed that his No. 9 UniFirst Chevy was “plowing tight” before dropping to 20th. He visited pit road on lap 241 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to help his Chevy’s handling. After returning to the track, he improved to 16th with 45 laps to go. Despite a couple of cars on fresher tires getting by Elliott shortly after, he was able to regain some ground in the closing laps. When the checkered flag waved, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native crossed the stripe in 15th.

Elliott remains fifth in the Cup Series points standings, now 131 markers behind the leader.

Start / Finish: 3 / 15
Points Standing / Total: 5th / 194 pts. (-131)

Next Race: Sunday, March 29, Martinsville Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, SiriusXM or MRN

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