Elliott Surges to Runner-Up Finish at IMS Road Course

• Chase Elliott had a fast No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 throughout the entire weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. 
• The 27-year-old driver rolled off the grid from the third position and steadily ran inside the top five throughout the first stage, ending it in third. Elliott followed that up with a fifth-place finish in the second stage before ultimately taking the checkered flag in the runner-up spot.
• Elliott is now 19th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 80 points below the provisional cutline to advance to the playoffs, with two races remaining in the regular season. Next week, the series heads to Watkins Glen International, the site of two Cup wins for the 2020 champion.

Chase Elliott secured a third-place starting position during Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. His No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 showed speed from the drop of the green flag in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race. He held steady inside the top five on the opening lap and was scored in fourth when the only caution of the 82-lap race came out on the second lap for an on-track incident. Staying out, Elliott lined up fourth for the lap-five restart. He advanced his position to third on lap 11 and stayed there for the remainder of the first stage, which concluded at lap 15. 

With road courses no longer having stage breaks, the race remained under the green flag. Some teams opted to pit prior to the end of the stage, while some waited until early in the second stage. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road on lap 18 for four fresh tires and fuel. The driver of the No. 9 got back out on the track in the 14th position as pit stops continued. Elliott cycled to fifth on lap 28 after the leader made his way to pit road. He radioed to his team that he liked his NAPA Chevrolet’s balance, just prior to ending the second stage in the fifth position on lap 35. 

On the very next lap, Elliott caught the cars ahead of him and made moves to get into the second position. He remained there until the driver of the No. 99 nudged his way by just prior to Gustafson calling Elliott to pit road on lap 49. After a fast stop for four tires and fuel, the 2020 Cup Series champion was in position to contend for the win. Once the final cars came to pit road on lap 54, Elliott was scored in the second position. He and the race leader encountered lapped traffic while the race remained caution-free. In the final laps, Elliott made his way past the lapped cars, closing the gap between himself and the leader. Ultimately, the Hendrick Motorsports driver ran out of time, and he took the checkered flag in the runner-up position. 

With two races left in the regular season, Elliott is now 80 points below the provisional playoff cutline. The next track on the schedule – Watkins Glen International – has been the site of two Cup Series victories for the Dawsonville, Georgia, native, including his first-ever premier series win.

Start / Finish: 3 / 2
Points Standing / Total: 19th / 480 pts. (-350)

Next Race: Sunday, August 20, Watkins Glen International
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on USA, MRN or SiriusXM

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