Posted on by Reid Spencer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It took a post-race fracas on pit road to distract from the dominance of Martin Truex Jr., who led a career-best 464 laps in winning Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway and punched his ticket for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race.

The 2017 Cup Series champion took the lead from pole winner Denny Hamlin off pit road on Lap 30 under the first of 11 cautions and held it the rest of the way, save for a six-lap stint where Kyle Larson stayed out on old tires near the end of the second 130-lap stage.

Denied victory by Joey Logano’s bump-and-run in last year’s playoff race at the .526-mile track, Truex won for the first time at the venerable short track. It was his seventh win this season and the 26th time in this career.

RELATED: Race results | Series standings
MORE: Shop for Truex gear

Byron chased Truex all the way to the checkered flag but couldn’t get close enough to make a move in the final laps.

“I can’t believe we just won Martinsville, man,” said Truex, who finished .489 seconds ahead of William Byron after a restart with 24 laps left. “Miami (site of the season finale) is awesome, but we’ve wanted to win here for a long time.”

As strong as his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was, Truex didn’t expect the level of domination he showed Sunday.

“I don’t think anyone expected that,” said Truex, who opened a 20-point lead over second-place Hamlin in the standings. “This race track, in general, you don’t see that. Hats off to my guys. Pit crew was stellar today, and we didn’t make many adjustments. We adjusted on early and it came to life, and that was a lot of fun.

“I don’t know, maybe now I’ve got this place figured out. Who knows? But just really proud of everybody, and after last year, we talked earlier, everybody wants to keep talking about last year, and I’m like, ‘We’ve got work to do.’ I’m just proud of everybody for giving me a race car like that and being able to put it all together today when it counted.”

RELATED: Logano, Hamlin square off on pit road

A post-race discussion between Hamlin and Logano started with civility and ended in a wrestling match between the drivers and their crews. The point of contention was an incident on Lap 458 when Hamlin’s Toyota and Logano’s Ford made side-to-side contact off Turn 4 and Logano’s car banged into the outside wall.

Logano spun in Turn 1 to bring out the 10th caution, and he recovered to finish seventh, but he wanted answers from Hamlin after the race.

“We were having a discussion,” Hamlin said. “Everything was civil, and then, like Joey does, he does a little push and then runs away. So that’s Joey. Scared. He said, ‘Do you want to go?’ I said, ‘Yes, I’m here.’ But then he runs away.”

“I just wanted to see what his thoughts were, and it wasn’t quite the answer I was looking for,” said Logano, who initiated the physicality with a light push to Hamlin’s right shoulder.

Seeking his first win in NASCAR’s top series, Byron ran consistently in the top 10 all afternoon but was no match for Truex.

“He was really strong,” said Byron, who had not finished on the lead lap in three previous starts at Martinsville. “I could work my brake bias a little bit in the car and gain a little bit, and then I’d get to him and I’d heat up a lot and then kind of fall back. I don’t really know. He was super strong. Our car bounced a little bit on the short run, which was tough to kind of get around. But overall, it was a really good day.

“This isn’t a place that I’ve loved coming to, and it just clicked this weekend, the things we did with the car going into qualifying and then obviously our race. Super excited, but second is not super fun, either. We’ll try to get one spot better next time.”

Brad Keselowski ran third, followed by Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch. Kevin Harvick, Logano, Kyle Larson and Ryan Newman completed the top 10.

With Truex locked into the Championship 4 — winning a Round of 8 race for the first time — Hamlin, 14th-place finisher Kyle Busch and Logano remain above the cut line for the season finale, with the playoff field to be cut from eight drivers to four, two races hence at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.

Harvick is fifth in the standings, 1 point behind Logano in fourth. Blaney is one point behind Harvick with Larson another nine back. Chase Elliott finished 36th on Sunday, 55 laps down after his rear axle broke on Lap 180, and is 44 points below the cut line—likely needing a victory in one of the next two races to make the Championship 4.

ALMIROLA: Will ‘make it hell’ for Ky. Busch

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, October 28
2 p.m., NASCAR 120: Kansas, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Monday, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, October 29
2 p.m., Glory Road: Modified to Cup (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., Glory Road: Endurance Racing (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download: Brad Keselowski, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, October 30
Midnight, Dale Jr. Download: Brad Keselowski (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Motormouths, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., Glory Road: The Winston Million, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., Glory Road: Controversial Finishes (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
Noon, NASCAR Coast to Coast

Thursday, October 31
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series West: Bakersfield (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Friday, November 1
1 p.m., Racing Roots: Denny Hamlin (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
5 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)

Saturday, November 2
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
6:30 p.m., NASCAR America, CNBC/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
8 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
11 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post Race, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On PRN
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying
8 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300

Sunday, November 3
11:30 p.m., Empty Cup: Quest for the 1992 NASCAR Championship (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
Noon, NASCAR RaceDay: MENCS, FS1/FOX Sports App
1:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 4)
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Post Race, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On PRN
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott’s exceptional start in Sunday’s Round of 8 opener at Martinsville Speedway was undone by an apparent broken axle in his No. 9 Chevrolet.

The issue became clear after pit stops during a Stage 2 caution. After a four-tire stop, Elliott’s No. 9 didn’t fire off just right, and the Hendrick Motorsports driver immediately brought his machine back down pit road.

The team further diagnosed the issue as the race went green, dropping Elliott from a potential top-five position to 37th and more than 10 laps down. The team eventually took the car to the garage in an attempt to repair it, changing the rear gearing.

RELATED: Race results

Elliott returned to the track on Lap 236, 52 laps down and in last place. He finished 36th and exits Martinsville 44 points behind the cutoff line and last among the remaining eight title-eligible drivers.

“Just disappointing for a day like that,” Elliott said. “We know better and we can do better than that.”

Elliott qualified second for Sunday’s race at the .526-mile track, but started at the rear of the field after a blown engine in Saturday practice forced the team to make a swap. He drove his way through the field in impressive fashion, earning three stage points in Stage 1 by finishing eighth and clawing his way into the top five before the issue.

MORE: Playoff picture outlook

The two mechanical issues during Martinsville weekend comes on the heels of an early exit at Dover during the opening race in the postseason’s Round of 12. Now the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 group has opened the Round of 8 with a thud, which crew chief Alan Gustafson said was cause for concern.

“We can’t break parts,” Gustafson told NASCAR.com. “You can’t win these races if you don’t finish them. Certainly can’t gain any points if you don’t finish them. Yeah, we gotta finish races. We can’t continue to do this. This is not acceptable and we’re not going to get very far if we don’t finish, so that’s a lot to clean up in my opinion. Yeah, not good.”

Asked if next weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway was a must-win, Elliott said it was “certainly the case.” Elliott hasn’t finished worse than 13th in seven Monster Energy Series starts at the Fort Worth venue, but Gustafson said execution meant more than any track record there.

“All you can do, in my opinion, is do the best you can do, right?” Gustafson said. “Optimism, stats, history — all that (expletive) does not matter. It doesn’t pay any points. You’ve got to go, and you’ve got to perform.”

Contributing: Zack Albert in Martinsville

Posted on by Staff Report

Martin Truex Jr. completed the sweep of stage wins in Sunday’s First Data 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 opener at Martinsville Speedway.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver dominated the opening stage and once again took the green and white checkered flag in Stage 2 for his eighth stage win of the season. He led a total of 224 of 260 laps through two stages.

Right behind him was Kyle Larson in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, after Larson had stayed out during a late caution to assume the lead and go for stage points. Truex passed him in the final turn to re-take his lead.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Rounding out the top five were Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, defending winner Joey Logano in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford and Aric Almirola in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

With a tire going down, Clint Bowyer came down pit road on Lap 247 while running second, but his team swapped out his left sides. The only problem? It was a right-side tire going down. Bowyer quickly brought out a caution shortly after getting back on track, as his tire eventually went flat and sparks flew. He fell all the way to 29th.

The big news from the stage came after Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was forced to the garage with a broken axle discovered during a pit stop during the stage’s first caution (for a Ty Dillon spin.) Elliott, one of eight remaining playoff drivers, had started from the rear and worked his way into the top 10 before the issues.

RELATED: Car trouble derails Elliott

Elliott returned to the race on Lap 236, 53 laps down. He’ll look to work his way out of a massive hole at next week’s Texas Motors Speedway and the elimination race at ISM Raceway near Phoenix.

Series points leader Kyle Busch placed seventh.

Place Driver Team Pts
1 Martin Truex Jr. (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2 Kyle Larson (P) Chip Ganassi Racing 9
3 Ryan Blaney (P) Team Penske 8
4 Joey Logano (P) Team Penske 7
5 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 6
6 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 5
7 Kyle Busch (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8 Denny Hamlin (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 3
9 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 2
10 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 1

STAGE 1

Martin Truex Jr. led 100 of 130 laps en route to winning Stage 1 in Sunday’s First Data 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 opener at Martinsville Speedway.

It was the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota’s seventh stage win of the season.

Truex took the lead from teammate and pole-sitter Denny Hamlin early in the stage after getting off pit road first during the stage’s only caution for debris on Lap 27. Hamlin lost four spots on pit road but worked his way back up to finish second.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Rounding out the top five were Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, Clint Bowyer in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and defending race-winner Joey Logano in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Series points leader Kyle Busch placed ninth. Chase Elliott started in the rear with a backup No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, but worked his way to eighth by stage end.

Just over 10 laps in, playoff drivers Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson made contact, with the No. 42 Chevrolet of the latter getting sideways. Each recovered well to finish 12th and 17th, respectively, though Larson went a lap down just before the stage ended.

Place Driver Team Pts
1 Martin Truex Jr. (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2 Denny Hamlin (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 9
3 Ryan Blaney (P) Team Penske 8
4 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5 Joey Logano (P) Team Penske 6
6 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 5
7 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8 Chase Elliott (P) Hendrick Motorsports 3
9 Kyle Busch (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 2
10 Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas Racing 1
Posted on by Staff Report

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyle Larson told reporters at Martinsville Speedway that he’s racing with a broken rib suffered during a crash at Talladega Superspeedway.

The 27-year-old said he went for X-rays following a painful race at Kansas Speedway, which confirmed the lower rib fracture.

“It still hurts,” Larson said. “I modified my seat quite a bit this week. I feel good in the car this week because the G forces, you don’t really have any (at Martinsville). My ribs feel fine in there.

” … Just something I’m kind of going to have to deal with the rest of the season. Stinks but we’ll get through.”

RELATED: Key story lines to watch

“It’s just going to be a little painful at times,” Larson added.

Larson qualified for the Round of 8 for the first time in his career. He enters Sunday’s race in seventh place among the eight remaining playoff drivers, 19 points behind the cutline.

Larson lines up 14th for today’s race (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by PJ Walsh

Martinsville Speedway is no stranger to drama, especially during NASCAR’s fall event. Martinsville is a tight .526-mile track that results in plenty of beating and banging while not allowing drivers to truly find clear track.

Throw in the added intensity of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and you have a recipe for excitement, tempers and hurt feelings.

Remember, a win this afternoon locks any of the eight remaining playoff teams into the series finale at Homestead with a shot at the championship, so those drivers will be as aggressive as possible to secure the checkered flag.

After analyzing historical Martinsville races, performances at similar tracks with the current aero package and this weekend’s on-track activity, here are my favorite bets for today’s First Data 500.

Five drivers — Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano and Chase Elliott — currently have odds of 6-1 or shorter at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas to win today’s race.

However, there’s one past Martinsville winner I’m eyeing as a nice value bet.

Clint Bowyer (25-1) to Win

Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing before the 2017 season, Bowyer has been incredibly fast at Martinsville, posting the fourth-best average finish (7.8). He is tied for the sixth-best average running position (8.4), while leading the fourth-most laps (216) — including a win in the spring of 2018 — over those five races.

Bowyer was solid at “The Paperclip” earlier this year as well, which is important because it’s the only race run at this track with the current aero package. In that event, Clint ran the fifth-most laps en route to a seventh-place result.

The driver of the No. 14 Ford has brought that speed again with him so far this weekend, securing the seventh starting position while posting the fastest five-lap, 10-lap, 15-lap and 20-lap averages in final practice.

Brett Griffin, Bowyer’s spotter, even took time to tweet just how good the team’s car is:


Like I said, fast.

While I don’t put Bowyer among the top tier of favorites, he’s not priced like one, either.

Betting odds of 25-1 are a really nice value for a driver who has performed very well at this track in recent years, especially considering the speed he’s shown in practice and qualifying this weekend.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Denny Hamlin is on the pole for Sunday’s First Data 500 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Is the five-time Martinsville winner worthy of a spot on your roster? How should you navigate the playoff game format? We’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration.

A reminder that inspection will be Sunday morning and the lineup is not official until inspection is completed. (UPDATE: The lineup is now official.)

PLAY NOW: Set your lineup | How the game works | Tips to set your lineup

RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race day at Martinsville
Playoff driver 1: Denny Hamlin
Playoff driver 2: Martin Truex Jr.
Non-playoff driver 1: Clint Bowyer
Non-playoff driver 2: Aric Almirola
Garage: Kyle Busch

Alternates for playoff drivers (if one above fails inspection): Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano
Alternates for non-playoff drivers (if one above fails inspection): Brad Keselowski, William Byron

RELATED: Odds for Martinsville | Lap averages | Weekend preview

Analysis: My roster is consisting of two teams — Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. Hamlin and Busch are two of the best here and have posted solid averages all weekend. Truex’s recent history at Martinsville is extremely favorable as well and his 15- and 20-lap averages were better than his playoff JGR teammates. I gave real consideration to Blaney over Busch for the garage, and if you are looking to zag toward a different play, he’s a great option when you combine sneaky good averages and a solid Martinsville body of work. Elliott was another consideration, but I feel like dropping to the rear for an engine change is basically punting on Stage 1 points. Could be wrong in the estimation, but I’d rather not take the chance.

Bowyer is not only the best non-playoff car, but he is also one of the best cars this weekend as he topped the 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-lap average board in final practice. He also scored a win here in the spring of 2018. It feels weird keeping Keselowski out of my lineup after he dominated the spring race, but the 2 camp seemed off a bit in both practices on Saturday. I was initially all-in on him as part of my lineup, but instead I will go with Almirola because I like the minimal fall off across his lap averages in final practice as well as a top-five starting spot.

On the bonus picks, I’m taking Hamlin to win Stage 1 and Stage 2 with Truex winning the race and Toyota as the winning manufacturer.

Each week in this space, we’ll also highlight two Props Challenge items for players.

MORE: Play the Props Challenge today

1. O/U 3.5 playoff drivers finish in the top five. I’m taking the OVER here as I expect there to be four and I count Hamlin, Truex, Blaney, Busch and Elliott as the five playoff drivers I could see finishing up there when the day is over — and it’s not a stretch to see Logano there as well. In two of the past three playoff races at Martinsville, four playoff drivers have finished in the top five. The cream tends to rise to the top here, and I expect the same on Sunday. Given that I expect the playoff drivers to be all over the top five, I also expect playoff drivers to lead more laps than non-playoff drivers in this race.

2. Which Team Penske driver finishes higher: Ryan Blaney or Joey Logano? I am taking BLANEY on this one. I like his longer run lap averages and Logano has seemed better suited toward a short run here in the past. I realize Logano is the defending race winner, but I just think Blaney has been a tick better so far this weekend.

Posted on by Zack Albert

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Saturday afternoon’s chaos at Martinsville Speedway was unrelenting and spared no favorites in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series playoffs. 

With sheet metal askew, all six remaining Gander Trucks title hopefuls ran into varying degrees of trouble in Saturday’s NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 at the .526-mile track. The results sheet resembled a haphazard dartboard, with four playoff drivers collecting at the bottom of the pile — an outcome that sixth-place Stewart Friesen summed up best.

RELATED: Race results | Gilliland wins at Martinsville

“I’m glad we’re out of this place,” said Friesen, who held onto second in the truck standings. “It’s just brutal racing. Zero respect. Just brutal, absolutely brutal. I’m happy to be out of here and we salvaged the day.”

“Salvage” seemed to be the right word as most of the 32 trucks were ready for the salvage yard at the end of 201 laps. The net effect of the carnage was a virtual push in the points standings, with only two drivers able to gain ground with just two races remaining in the season — the Round of 6 eliminator in two weeks at ISM Raceway near Phoenix and the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 15.

Ross Chastain’s chance for a spot in next month’s title race evaporated when eventual winner Todd Gilliland muscled past on the next-to-last restart, the clinching bump out of a tag-team effort from him and Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Harrison Burton. The outcome meant the first two races of the Round of 6 went to non-playoff drivers, leaving no automatic berths claimed.

“It was just tough whenever the two teammates there took their turns knocking my back bumper off,” said Chastain, who escaped with second place and a 20-point cushion above the cut line. “I want to go blow for blow. I don’t want two against one.”

Friesen wound up as the only other playoff driver to finish on the lead lap, scrapping for a top 10. Matt Crafton’s No. 88 was the final truck running at the finish, placing eight laps down in 23rd after a mechanical glitch stalled him near the end of Stage 2. But his fate was only slightly better than Tyler Ankrum’s wreck-afflicted 25th, Austin Hill’s crumpled-up 26th and Brett Moffitt’s fender-frayed 29th.

The only saving grace, Hill said, was that no title-eligible drivers were immune.

“I haven’t seen the points or anything, but the good news is a lot of other playoff guys are having issues,” said Hill, just nine points on the plus side of elimination. “It doesn’t make it too bad, but I want to be out there competing. It’s a tough deal. We’ll go on to Phoenix and see what we can do.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Fresh from last Sunday’s victory at Kansas, Denny Hamlin reasserted his mastery of Martinsville Speedway on Saturday afternoon, edging Chase Elliott for the pole position for Sunday’s First Data 500 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hamlin’s pole win was confirmed Sunday morning when the No. 11 Toyota passed inspection.

Covering the .526-mile distance in 19.354 seconds (97.840 mph), Hamlin beat Elliott (97.694 mph) by .029 seconds to secure his third Busch Pole Award of the season, his fourth at Martinsville and the 33rd of his career.

Despite his strong performance, Elliott won’t start on the front row. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet blew an engine early in opening practice on Saturday, and because of the necessary change in power plants, Elliott will drop to the rear for the start of the opening race in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

A five-time winner this season and a five-time winner at Martinsville, Hamlin won his first pole at the paper-clip-shaped track since the fall race of 2013.

RELATED: Unofficial lineup | Martinsville schedule

“I did an OK job, but this car has been good all weekend so far,” Hamlin said. “It was pretty fast in practice.

“The feel hasn’t always been great, but it’s had pretty decent speed. I’m pretty happy with it and look forward to 500 more laps of this on Sunday.”

Martin Truex Jr. qualified third at 97.694 mph, as playoff drivers posted the three fastest laps in time trials. Ford drivers Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell were fourth and fifth fastest, respectively. Playoff driver Ryan Blaney, who is eighth in the standings, will start sixth on Sunday.

Other playoff drivers will start the Round of 8 as follows: Joey Logano 10th, Kyle Busch 13th, Kyle Larson 14th and Kevin Harvick 22nd.

Elliott retained the benefit of a good pit stall pick, and he doesn’t think starting from the rear is a race-killer.

“I think if your car is driving good, and you make good decisions and execute the day like it needs to be done, I don’t think starting last isn’t something that you can’t overcome,” Elliott said. “Certainly, it’s not how you want to start your day, and it puts you in a bit of a hole, but at the same time, if your car is driving good and you do a good job fighting your way up to the front, you still have a shot.

“That’s why a good qualifying effort is still important. If you do get yourself in a position towards the front at the end of this thing tomorrow, a good pit stop could decide it for you. So I think we have to continue to push in all areas and just hope it goes our way.”