Elliott Wraps Up 2024 Season with Top-10 Finish at Phoenix Raceway

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified fifth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
• The 28-year-old driver finished stage one in the fifth position and followed it up with an eighth-place result in stage two.
• In the final stage Elliott continued to race inside the top 10, taking the checkered flag in the eighth position.
• Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team ended the season seventh in the Cup Series standings.

Chase Elliott headed into the final race weekend of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season with a fast No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. He and the NAPA Auto Parts crew qualified fifth for Sunday’s 312-lap race at Phoenix Raceway. From the drop of the green flag, Elliott’s Chevrolet showed speed. He was up to fourth when the first caution flag of the race came out on just the second lap. He restarted from the second row and faded back to sixth early in the run before advancing to fifth on lap 17, where he remained to finish the first stage on lap 60.

Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott relayed to crew chief Alan Gustafson that he felt the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet was in a good spot. He followed that up with a visit to pit road for four tires and fuel. A fast stop by the NAPA Auto Parts crew helped Elliott win the battle off pit road. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native led the field to green for stage two on lap 71 and he settled into the second position after battling for the top spot. He slipped back to third during the long green-flag run before visiting pit road on lap 116 for four fresh tires and fuel. Back out on the track, he cycled up to fourth by lap 133. As the run went on, he relayed that the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet was “tighter with the front.” When the green-and-white checkered flag waved to end the second stage on lap 185, Elliott was scored with an eighth-place result.

The team opted to make an air-pressure adjustment during its pit stop for four tires and fuel. Elliott gained a position on pit road, allowing him to line up seventh to choose his lane to start the final stage. Choosing the outside of row four, he managed to hold onto the seventh position once the green flag dropped. He remained there until green-flag pit stops got under way on lap 236. Gustafson had Elliott run long, and the driver of the No. 9 advanced to second before an opportune caution came out on lap 251. The 28-year-old visited pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to his NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. He restarted from the second row on lap 258 and continued to battle inside the top 10 for the remainder of the race, taking the checkered flag in the eighth position.

The result was Elliott’s 19th top-10 finish of the 2024 season. He ended the year with an average finish of 11.7, which was best among the Cup Series field, and he claimed the seventh position in the points standings.

Start / Finish: 5 / 8
Final 2024 Points Standing / Total: 7th / 2,342 pts.

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