Chase Elliott’s string of frustration ended on Thursday night as he won the Alsco Uniforms 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
After being unintentionally wrecked by Kyle Busch on the final green flag lap of the rain-shortened Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway last week and making a disastrous decision to pit late in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, he finally has something worth smiling about — or at least making a sigh of relief.
“We’ve had some tough losses, but that deal on Sunday night was a heartbreaker,” Elliott said after the race. “I thought either the caution was going to come out, I was going to break something, or I was going to crash. Just after these last couple of weeks, I surely didn’t think it would go green to the end.”
Elliott’s finishes since NASCAR resumed competition on May 17 have been fourth, 38th, second, and first. Had Busch not caused him to crash and if William Byron didn’t create a caution with three to go on Sunday, those results would likely be fourth, second, first, and first.
“We’re really excited and proud, and we’re happy with our Chevy Camaro,” Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson said. “The thing is a rocket ship, and we appreciate all the work that’s gone into it. It’s fun to race, and we feel like we’ve got a really competitive car.”
And it’s not just Elliott who has been stellar since the sport’s return — it’s been Hendrick Motorsports as a whole.
Alex Bowman is enjoying the best season of his career. He was arguably the fastest car in both Charlotte races, but the results don’t show it. He’s finished 19th in the 600 after a poor final restart and 31st on Thursday after slapping the wall late in the race. But he leads the series in stage wins and laps led. On Thursday, he won his fourth stage of 2020.
“That didn’t end the way we imagined. We had a great car and led some laps and got our fourth stage win of the season,” he said. “I just got in the wall there at the end, and it really hurt the right side. At that point, there isn’t really much we can do. We will finish one of these things here soon. It is a quick turnaround to Bristol on Sunday, but I’m ready for it.”
Jimmie Johnson and Byron have been stronger lately, although, like his teammates, the finishes don’t exemplify it. Johnson was particularly fast at the first Darlington event, but his race ended abruptly before the end of Stage 1 while in the lead after spinning and crashing to avoid a slower car. His second-place finish in the 600 was stripped after his car failed post-race inspection. Johnson finished 11th on Thursday and is 16th in the standings.
Byron started from the pole on Thursday as the top-20 was inverted from the 600 for the starting lineup. He ran into early trouble on pit road when he was leaving his box, and Corey Lajoie was entering his.
Byron suffered right-side damage but salvaged a 12th-place finish. The third-year driver is still looking for his first Cup win.
Elliott and Bowman and third and fourth in the standings, respectively. They only trail leader Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano. As NASCAR enters the summer stretch, all four HMS drivers could be in the top-10 before the playoffs with the speed they continuously bring race after race.
Well said. https://t.co/9Q0xVmHVc0
— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) May 29, 2020
