Multi-Car Incident Ends Elliott’s Night Early at Daytona

• Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified 10th for Saturday evening’s Coke Zero Sugar 400.
• From the drop of the green flag, the 28-year-old driver held strong in the main pack, but three-wide racing made it tough to improve his position towards the end of stage one.
• Elliott finished 21st in stage one before getting collected in a multi-car incident in stage two.
• While the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 appeared unscathed cosmetically, the rear suspension was too damaged for Elliott to continue in the race.
• Elliott and the No. 9 team were scored with a 36th-place finish at Daytona International Speedway.
• Heading into the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Elliott is third in the point standings, 18 markers behind the leader.

Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team qualified 10th for Saturday evening’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Once the green flag dropped, it didn’t take long for the field to go three wide. Elliott moved to the top lane on lap eight before dropping down to the bottom on lap 17 – a move that helped him return to the top 20. As stage one continued, the 28-year-old driver tried to maneuver his way forward but couldn’t find a lane that worked. He ultimately ended the stage in 21st on lap 35.

Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott relayed to crew chief Alan Gustafson that the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was tight. When pit road opened, Elliott brought his Chevy in for four fresh tires, a chassis adjustment and fuel. The Hendrick Motorsports driver took the green flag for stage two from the 17th position on lap 42. Again, the field went three wide, with Elliott racing in the middle lane. He began making moves to advance his position and was inside the top 15 on lap 56. The racing got dicey towards the front of the field, which triggered a multi-car incident ahead of Elliott. He tried to avoid the melee, but ultimately got collected. While the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet looked unscathed cosmetically, the rear suspension was too damaged for Elliott to continue in the race. He was scored with a 36th-place finish after completing only 61 laps.

Heading into the final race of the regular season, Elliott is third in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, just 18 markers behind the leader.

“Yeah, I honestly have no idea,” Elliott said about how the incident unfolded. “I just think that everybody was kind of playing games. Nobody wanted to lead, and it just kind of puts everyone in a tough spot. We were all just kind of stacked up there. Somebody was switching lanes, it looked like, and got out of shape. It’s a bummer. It was so early in the race. I would just like an opportunity to get a little deeper into it and just see where things shook out. We’ve been pretty lucky these last couple of trips down here to Daytona. It’s just unfortunate, but we’ll try to have a good weekend at Darlington.”

Start / Finish: 10 / 36
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 805 pts. (-18)

Next Race: Sunday, September 1, Darlington Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 6:00 p.m. on USA, MRN or SiriusXM

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