Chase Elliott’s hopes for a Sonoma Raceway victory hit a final-stage snag Sunday as his Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet lost power and went behind the wall for diagnosis.
Elliott had led three laps and was scored in third place behind race leader Martin Truex Jr. on Lap 60 of the 90-lap race, when he reported “blew up, blew up” as he coasted down pit road. His No. 9 crew raised the hood and performed some cursory checks before pushing the car to the garage, out of the race for good.
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“I don’t know. I don’t think I missed any shifts or anything,” Elliott told his team on the radio, saying that the car had not shown any abnormal signs before its mechanical issue. Bill Elliott, his Hall of Fame father, was on spotter duty for the team this weekend and reported that the car had misfired on the final time past his location.
“We lost oil pressure but there is no oil leaking, so it must have been a belt, I guess,” Elliott said later. “And obviously when that happens, you’re not getting oil so things are going to not work when they’re not being loosened up and have oil to work with. I’ve been with Hendrick Motorsports for a number of years now running their engines, and I think this is the second time we ever broke one. So, I’ll take those odds all day long.”
Eight laps after Elliott pulled off the track, the team informed primary spotter Eddie D’Hondt that the No. 9 was done for the day in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Elliott had finished in the top 10 in the past two Sonoma races, but was 37th Sunday, losing ground in the standings as a result.
Elliott has virtually clinched a spot in the 16-driver playoff field with his victory in April at Talladega Superspeedway.