Elliott Scores Top-10 Result at Richmond Raceway

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Coca-Cola team qualified fourth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.
• The event marked the first points-paying race where NASCAR provided two sets of a softer “option tire” to each team.
• Elliott earned valuable points in each stage, finishing the first segment in the sixth position and the second segment in the 10th spot.
• The 28-year-old driver was running in the 14th position when a caution flag came out with just two laps remaining in the race. After pitting for the team’s final set of soft tires, Elliott restarted 14th and took the checkered flag in ninth.
• The result was the 12th top-10 finish this season for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
• Elliott is third in the regular season standings, only sixth points behind the leader, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Coca-Cola team qualified fourth for Sunday evening’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway. The Richmond event marked the first points-paying race where NASCAR implemented a second tire option for teams to utilize during the race. Teams were given only two sets of the softer tire, with the remaining sets being the normal Goodyear compound. After the drop of the green flag, Elliott fought hard for position but fell back to seventh early. As the run went on, Elliott’s No. 9 Coca-Cola Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 started coming to him. After improving to sixth on lap 41, he reported that the No. 9 Chevy was a little freer on entry than it had been in practice. The 2020 Cup Series champion remained in the sixth position to end stage one on lap 70. 

Under the stage ending caution, Elliott came to pit road for four tires and fuel. A fast stop by the No. 9 Coca-Cola team gained Elliott a spot on pit road. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native was fifth to choose his lane to start the second stage. After opting for the outside of row three, he battled side-by-side with the No. 3 of Austin Dillon for the fifth position once back to green. As the two were racing, the No. 99 of Daniel Suarez, who was among the first to utilize a set of soft tires, passed both of them. Elliott settled into sixth and radioed shortly after that his Coca-Cola Chevrolet was pretty decent. As the first round of green-flag pit stops got under way, Elliott remained on the track and cycled to the lead prior to pitting for four tires and fuel on lap 127. He re-entered the track in the 19th position and improved to 10th by lap 156. Less than 20 laps later, teams on a similar strategy started visiting pit road once again. Elliott brought the No. 9 Coca-Cola Chevrolet to the attention of his crew on lap 178 for fuel and four fresh tires. He worked his way back to 15th on lap 205 and came on strong in the closing laps of stage two to take the green-and-white checkered flag in 10th on lap 230. 

During the stage break, the No. 9 team opted to put on its first set of the softer tire, along with most of the field. Elliott took the green flag for the final stage in 10th on lap 241 and continued to race inside the top 15. He was scored in 11th when teams began making pit stops on lap 279. Gustafson called Elliott to pit road on lap 284 for a set of regular tires and fuel. As the race continued to go caution free, Elliott methodically worked his way forward and was up to 14th before the final round of green-flag pit stops. The 28-year-old driver visited pit road on lap 335 for four regular tires and fuel. He was in the 20th position when he got back out on the track. From there, Elliott advanced to 14th. It looked like that’s where he would finish the race, but a caution with two laps to go gave the team one more opportunity for a top-10 result. Under the yellow flag, Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for the team’s final set of soft tires. Elliott lined up 14th for the overtime restart and powered his way to ninth to finish the race.

The result was Elliott’s 12th top-10 finish of the season. With three races left in the regular season, he sits third in the points standings, just six markers behind the leader, teammate Kyle Larson.

Start / Finish: 4 / 9
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 773 pts. (-6)

Next Race: Sunday, August 18, Michigan International Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: USA, MRN or SiriusXM

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