Strong Run for Chase Elliott at New Hampshire Thwarted by Late-Race Incident
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports, finished 34th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon after a late-race incident caused the driver to develop a tire rub.
Starting seventh, Elliott remained in the top 10 up until the competition caution on Lap 35 when crew chief Alan Gustafson called for four tires when most teams took two. On the ensuing restart, the strategy call paid off as Elliott jumped from 12th up to ninth, and had moved to eighth before a caution flag waved on Lap 100. Due to another speedy stop by the NAPA pit crew, Elliott restarted sixth and once again had a good push to jump to fourth. He fell just outside of the top five shortly after Lap 130, settling into sixth. That is the position he would regain on Lap 192 following a cycle of green-flag pit stops.
Following the debris caution on Lap 265, Elliott restarted eighth with 74 laps to go. Unfortunately, the No. 78, restarting in front of Elliott, was suffering from a transmission issue and as the green flag was displayed Elliott was forced to make a move out of line to avoid a larger accident, but the maneuver caused Elliott to develop a tire rub producing a left rear flat which led to contact with the wall. The team called Elliott to pit road for repairs and returned to the track, ultimately finishing 34th.
Elliott’s teammate, Jimmie Johnson, led the four-car Hendrick Motorsports contingent to the checkered flag finishing 12th. Kasey Kahne finished 25th and Alex Bowman subbing in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. took home a 26th-place result.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule will be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 24th. The event begins at 3:00 p.m. ET with live coverage provided by NBCSN.
Chase Elliott 2016 Stats after New Hampshire (July race)
| Ranking | Points | Starts | Poles | Wins | Top-5 | Top-10 | Laps Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 499 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 118 |
2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings (Top 16 after 19 of 36 races)
| Postion | Driver (wins) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kevin Harvick (1) | 636 |
| 2. | Brad Keselowski (4) | 622 |
| 3. | Kurt Busch (1) | 602 |
| 4. | Carl Edwards (2) | 587 |
| 5. | Joey Logano (1) | 571 |
| 6. | Kyle Busch (3) | 556 |
| 7. | Martin Truex Jr. (1) | 540 |
| 8. | Matt Kenseth (2) | 521 |
| 9. | Jimmie Johnson (2) | 514 |
| 10. | Denny Hamlin (1) | 505 |
| 11. | Chase Elliott | 499 |
| 12. | Ryan Newman | 497 |
| 13. | Austin Dillon | 488 |
| 14. | Jamie McMurray | 474 |
| 15. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 461 |
| 16. | Trevor Bayne | 447 |
NAPA: @NAPARacing
Chase Elliott: @ChaseElliott
Hendrick Motorsports: @TeamHendrick
No. 24 Team: @Hendrick24Team
Hendrick Motorsports View All
Founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest team in NASCAR Cup Series history. At the sport’s premier level, the organization holds the all-time records in every major statistical category, including championships (14), points-paying race victories (312) and laps led (more than 82,000). It has earned at least one race win in a record 40 different seasons, including an active streak of 39 in a row (1986-2024). Headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, the team fields four full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet driven by 2020 champion Chase Elliott.