Elliott Places 23rd in Tough Race at Bristol

• Chase Elliott started Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race in 27th after practice and qualifying were canceled due to weather.
• Elliott battled a tough-handling No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet throughout the night. He finished the first stage 24th and the second stage 25th.
• The team continued to make adjustments to try to improve the No. 9 Chevy’s handling. Elliott ultimately overcame a late-race spin to take the checkered flag 23rd.
• With seven races remaining in The Chase, Elliott sits 12th in the standings, 117 points behind the leader.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters team started 27th in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race after practice and qualifying were canceled due to weather. When the green flag waved, Elliott made initial forward progress, reaching 22nd by lap seven. He was scored 23rd when the competition caution came out on lap 40. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. With five cars staying out, Elliott restarted 26th on lap 49 and tried to improve his position. He reached 23rd on lap 51, but as the run went on, he began losing ground. Elliott was scored 27th when the race was slowed for an incident on lap 94. He relayed to the team that he wished he could trust the back of his No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet more. The team opted to pit for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. Elliott restarted 24th on lap 102 and finished the first stage in that position.

During the stage-ending caution, Elliott relayed that his handling was better that time but that he fired off feeling low on air pressure. Staying out, Elliott was 12th to choose his lane for the restart. He took the green flag for stage two from the inside of row five on lap 137. He continued to race inside the top 20 until fading to 21st on lap 195. With the long green-flag run continuing, Elliott ultimately went a lap down. When the stage ended due to an incident on lap 248, the 31-year-old driver was scored 25th.

Under the stage break, Elliott reported that the No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet was loose. He brought his machine to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Elliott started the final stage 24th on lap 262. With it being difficult to complete passes at the Tennessee short track, Elliott struggled to gain ground and continued to lose time to the leaders over the course of a very long, green-flag run. Teams began visiting pit road under green on lap 378, while Elliott remained on the track. He was running 21st, three laps down, when a caution came out during the pit cycle on lap 397. A majority of the field was trapped a lap down or more at the time of the caution. After pitting for four tires and fuel, Elliott restarted 21st and was scored 20th when another caution slowed the race for an incident on lap 432. He visited pit road again before restarting 22nd on lap 442. Elliott was running in that same position when he spun, bringing out the caution on lap 477. Elliott avoided damage and brought the No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet to pit road for a fresh set of tires. He restarted 24th with 17 laps to go before ultimately taking the checkered flag in 23rd.

With seven races remaining in The Chase, Elliott is 12th in the standings, 117 points behind the leader.

Start / Finish: 27 / 23
Points Standing / Total: 12th / 2,089 pts. (-117)

Next Race: Sunday, September 27, Kansas Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on USA, SiriusXM or MRN

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