Chase Elliott made up for some of his recent heartbreak at Charlotte Motor Speedway, surging Thursday night to his first victory of the NASCAR Cup Series season.
Elliott powered his Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet to lead 28 of the 208 laps in the Alsco Uniforms 500. His first win on the 1.5-mile track’s oval layout was the seventh of his Cup Series career. He had come painfully close to winning Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 before a late caution flag and pit stop forced him to rally for second place in overtime.
“Appreciate the fight, guys. It was a tough week,” Elliott told his team over his in-car communications on the cool-down lap.
Denny Hamlin claimed second place in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota. Ryan Blaney secured third place, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kurt Busch completing the top five in order.
Kevin Harvick led a race-high 63 laps, but his Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford slipped to a 10th-place finish in the closing laps.
Alex Bowman led 51 laps in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet but faded from contention after a scrape of the Turn 4 retaining wall forced him to pit road with 72 laps remaining. He finished 31st.
Kyle Busch also fell from the ranks of early favorites when his No. 18 Toyota absorbed left-rear damage in a jumble for position at the start of Stage 2. He pitted with a flat tire and never returned to the lead lap, finishing 29th.
The race was stopped for 74 minutes for rain and lightning in the area. The event was originally scheduled for Wednesday night, but heavy rain from Tropical Depression Bertha forced the race to a Thursday start.
The Cup Series’ next race is scheduled Sunday, the Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- NASCAR -
Results
#
|
Car
|
Driver
|
Schemes
|
1
|
9
|
Chase Elliott
|
Kelley Blue Book
|
2
|
11
|
Denny Hamlin
|
FedEx #SupportSmall
|
3
|
12
|
Ryan Blaney
|
Body Armor
|
4
|
47
|
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
|
Kroger
|
5
|
1
|
Kurt Busch
|
Monster Energy
|
6
|
22
|
Joey Logano
|
Shell / Pennzoil
|
7
|
2
|
Brad Keselowski
|
Discount Tire
|
8
|
3
|
Austin Dillon
|
Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Off Road
|
9
|
19
|
Martin Truex, Jr.
|
Bass Pro Shops
|
10
|
4
|
Kevin Harvick
|
Busch Light
|
11
|
48
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
Ally
|
12
|
24
|
William Byron
|
Axalta
|
13
|
38
|
John Hunter Nemechek
|
Scag
|
14
|
8
|
Tyler Reddick
|
Okuma
|
15
|
21
|
Matt DiBenedetto
|
Menards / Richmond
|
16
|
14
|
Clint Bowyer
|
Peak
|
17
|
6
|
Ryan Newman
|
Roush Performance
|
18
|
41
|
Cole Custer
|
Autodesk / HaasTooling.com
|
19
|
32
|
Corey LaJoie
|
Superior Logistics
|
20
|
10
|
Aric Almirola
|
Smithfield
|
22
|
17
|
Chris Buescher
|
Fastenal
|
23
|
42
|
Matt Kenseth
|
Credit One Bank
|
24
|
37
|
Ryan Preece
|
Cottonelle
|
25
|
34
|
Michael McDowell
|
CarParts.com
|
26
|
20
|
Erik Jones
|
Craftsman
|
27
|
13
|
Ty Dillon
|
GEICO
|
28
|
96
|
Daniel Suarez
|
Today. Tomorrow. Toyota.
|
29
|
18
|
Kyle Busch
|
M&M's Fudge Brownie
|
30
|
27
|
Gray Gaulding
|
Panini America
|
31
|
88
|
Alex Bowman
|
ChevyGoods.com / NOCO
|
32
|
00
|
Quin Houff
|
Good Greek Movers
|
33
|
66
|
Timmy Hill
|
RoofClaim.com
|
34
|
77
|
J.J. Yeley
|
Aquesta Bank
|
35
|
78
|
B.J. McLeod
|
Circle Track Warehouse
|
36
|
7
|
Josh Bilicki
|
|
37
|
43
|
Bubba Wallace
|
World Wide Technology
|
38
|
15
|
Brennan Poole
|
Spartan Go
|
39
|
51
|
Joey Gase
|
|
40
|
53
|
Garrett Smithley
|
|
