Elliott Scores Top-Five Finish at Talladega

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Prime Video team qualified 30th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
• The 29-year-old driver finished stage one in fourth and followed it up with a 27th-place finish in stage two due to a speeding penalty during green-flag pit stops.
• Elliott ultimately ended the day with a fifth-place result, which helped him move up to fourth in the Cup Series points standings.
• It was his third top-five finish of the season.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Prime Video team qualified 30th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Early in the race, Elliott remained towards the back of the main pack before advancing into the top 15. By lap 36, he had worked his way into the top 10. Shortly after, teams started making the first round of green-flag pit stops. Elliott hadn’t yet visited pit road when the first caution flag of the race waved at lap 43. The 29-year-old driver was scored in the second position under the yellow before coming to pit road for fuel only. With some teams not pitting under the caution, Elliott lined up 17th for the lap 51 restart. Unfortunately, another incident slowed the race once again before the field could complete a lap under green. Staying out, Elliott restarted on the outside of row seven with just four laps remaining in the first stage. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native advanced to fourth to take the green-and-white checkered flag on lap 60.

Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott brought the No. 9 Prime Video Chevrolet to pit road for four tires and fuel. He took the green flag for the second stage from the ninth row. The field expanded to more than two lanes quickly and Elliott continued to race inside the top 15, climbing as high as fifth prior to green-flag pit stops starting for some teams. The Hendrick Motorsports quartet joined other Chevrolets on pit road on lap 109. After bringing the No. 9 Prime Video Chevrolet to the attention of his crew for fuel only, Elliott rejoined the field. Unfortunately, he was flagged for speeding on pit road and had to serve a pass-through penalty. Losing the main pack after getting back out on the track, Elliott turned laps solo, ending stage two in 27th on lap 120.

To gain a fuel advantage, crew chief Alan Gustafson told Elliott to wait until there was one lap to go under the caution to visit pit road. After stopping for four fresh tires and fuel, Elliott lined up 30th to start the final stage and rejoined the top 20 by lap 128. He continued to race mid-pack prior to the final round of pit stops, which got under way with just 25 laps to go. After visiting pit road for fuel only on lap 172, he got back out on the track in the top five. Elliott battled hard to remain towards the front of the pack and ultimately finished the race in the fifth position.

Leaving Talladega, the 2020 Cup Series champion is fourth in the driver points standings, 72 markers behind leader, teammate William Byron.

Start / Finish: 30 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 317 pts. (-72)

Next Race: Sunday, May 4, Texas Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN or SiriusXM

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