Elliott Takes Home Top-15 Result at Nashville Superspeedway

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book team qualified 11th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.
• The 29-year-old driver finished stage one in sixth and stage two in 20th before taking the checkered flag in the 15th position.
• Elliott is now fifth in the points standings, 105 markers behind leader and teammate William Byron.

Chase Elliott rolled off the grid for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway in the 11th position. When the green flag waved for the 300-lap race, Elliott quickly advanced to sixth where he remained until the first round of green-flag pit stops got underway. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called his driver to pit road on lap 45 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to help fine tune the No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet’s handling. The first stage continued to go caution free, with Elliott finishing it in the sixth position on lap 90.

During the stage break, Elliott provided feedback on the handling of the Kelley Blue Book Chevy. The team opted to make another air pressure adjustment during its pit stop for four tires and fuel. With the first two cars off pit road taking only two tires, Elliott was eighth to choose his lane for the restart, opting for the inside. He was running in seventh when an incident brought out the yellow flag on lap 105. This time, the team decided to take just two right side tires and fuel. He lined up on the inside of the fourth row for the lap 111 restart and was scored in 10th when the yellow flag was displayed again just two laps later. Cautions continued to plague stage two, with the final one occurring on lap 130. He was scored in 14th at the time of the yellow. Elliott chose the outside lane for the restart on lap 136 but lost momentum, dropping to 18th on lap 138. As the run went on, the 2020 Cup Series champion battled to try to maintain a top 20 running position, ultimately finishing the second stage in 20th.

For the final stage, Elliott lined up 13th after pitting for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. He was scored in that same position when the caution came out on lap 194. Once the race got back underway, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native continued to run inside the top 15 in the opening laps. He was running in 16th when green-flag pit stops began on lap 242. Elliott visited pit road on lap 247 for four tires, fuel and another chassis adjustment. Once the pit cycle was complete, Elliott was scored in 15th which is where he would finish the 300-lap Cup Series event.

Elliott now sits fifth in the driver points standings, 105 markers behind the leader, teammate William Byron.

Start / Finish: 11 / 15
Points Standing / Total: 5th / 442 pts. (-105)

Next Race: Sunday, June 8, Michigan International Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 2:00 p.m. ET on Prime, MRN or SiriusXM

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