Elliott Scores Fifth-Place Finish at All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro

• The No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts crew achieved the third-fastest pit stop among the teams already locked into the NASCAR All-Star Race during Friday’s Pit Crew Challenge, earning a second-place starting position for Chase Elliott in the first of Saturday’s two heat races.
• The first heat race determined the starting lineup for the inside row in the All-Star Race. Elliott scored a seventh-place result in the 60-lap heat race, putting him in the 13th position for the start of Sunday’s main event.
• Elliott powered his way inside the top 10 by the completion of the first lap on Sunday and remained there for the rest of 200-lap race, ultimately earning a fifth-place finish in the exhibition event at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Over the weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series made its return to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the first time since 1996, hosting the highly anticipated NASCAR All-Star Race. The No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team had a solid start, achieving the third-fastest pit stop among the teams already locked into the All-Star Race during Friday’s Pit Crew Challenge presented by Mechanix Wear. The strong performance secured Chase Elliott a second-place starting position for the first of two heat races on Saturday evening. In the 60-lap race, Elliott finished seventh, placing him 13th on the grid for the start of Sunday’s All-Star Race.

From the drop of the green flag for Sunday’s 200-lap main event, Elliott’s NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 showed impressive speed. The driver from Dawsonville, Georgia, quickly advanced to ninth place by the end of the first lap and continued his climb forward. He was running in seventh when a caution flag flew on lap 16 due to an incident. Elliott and the team chose not to pit during the caution period. For the restart on lap 21, he took the top lane, positioning himself on the outside of the second row. Elliott settled into fifth place early on and maintained that position until cars with fresher tires began making their way through the field during the long green-flag run. By the time the competition caution came out at the completion of lap 100, Elliott was in eighth place.

After a fast pit stop by the No. 9 crew for four tires and fuel, Elliott gained two positions on pit road. Opting for the bottom lane, he restarted inside the top 10 on lap 110 and was scored in eighth before methodically working his way to sixth by lap 122. During another extended green-flag run, he briefly dropped to seventh on lap 160 before swiftly gaining the spot back. Elliott improved one more position before the checkered flag waved, ultimately securing a fifth-place finish in the exhibition event. This marked his third top-five finish in his last four All-Star Race appearances, including his 2020 victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kyle Larson, emerged victorious in Sunday’s race at North Wilkesboro Speedway and took home the $1 million prize.

“Based on what we saw in practice on Friday, I thought it was about what we were expecting from there,” Elliott said. “It was pretty anticlimactic; I would say for the most part. But Kyle (Larson), Cliff (Daniels) and the No. 5 team did a great job and really set the pace there once they took tires at the start and controlled the event from there. These races are hard to win. They’re not always going to be barn burners, side-by-side, banging door finishes. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that they’re still hard to win and that should always be celebrated. I thought we made our No. 9 NAPA Chevy better throughout the night with the one pit stop we made, so I’ll take it.”

Start / Finish: 13 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 28th / 212 (-217)

Next Race: Sunday, May 28, Charlotte Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 6:00 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM

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