See where your favorite driver is pitting for Sunday’s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Chase Elliott has won the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Elliott, the series’ most recent winner last Sunday at Road America, will start his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from the pole position at the 1.54-mile track in his home state of Georgia.
RELATED: Atlanta, Knoxville schedule | Cup Series standings
Cup Series regular Kyle Busch won the pole for Saturday’s Credit Karma Money 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The Camping World Truck Series is also in action this weekend, making its debut at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway. That event will use qualifying heats to determine the starting lineup for Friday’s Corn Belt 150 (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).
As NASCAR adapted to COVID-19 protocols last season, practice and qualifying were eliminated at a majority of national-series events to limit at-track time, exposure and to cut race weekend costs. To determine starting lineups, competition officials used grouped draws, added inversions for weekend doubleheaders, and eventually adopted a performance-metrics formula. That metrics format remains in place this season, drawing on performance from both individual races and season-long results.
NASCAR’s metrics formula for 2021 weighs:
- 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
- 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
- 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
- 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race
See the full lineup for Sunday’s Cup Series race below.
| Start pos. |
Driver | Car # | Team |
| 1 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 6 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 7 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 8 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 9 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 10 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 11 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 12 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 13 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 14 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 15 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 17 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 18 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 19 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 20 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 21 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 22 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 23 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 24 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 25 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 26 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 27 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 28 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 29 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 30 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 31 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 32 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 33 | Bayley Currey | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 34 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 35 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 36 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 37 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Two races remain with Busch Pole Qualifying on the schedule — Aug. 15 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course and the season-ending championship race Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway.
Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports’ vice president of competition, said Sunday that he didn’t expect any lasting hard feelings between teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman after their Sunday run-in at Road America. He added that “we’ll get home, talk about it, make sure …” According to Larson’s explanation, their on-track incident was a settled matter before the team even left Wisconsin.
Larson met with reporters Tuesday and further touched on the dynamic between the two teammates, both multiple-time winners this year in the NASCAR Cup Series. Their late-race battle for position on the 4.048-mile road course found a tipping point when Bowman, out of brakes in his No. 48 Chevrolet, failed to properly slow for Turn 5 and bumped Larson’s No. 5 Chevy into a spin.
RELATED: Cup Series standings | Power Rankings
Bowman explained himself to Larson on pit road after the Jockey Made in America 250, a gesture he said was well-received, and that made a follow-up with Knaus back at the shop this week a moot point.
“There didn’t need to be a meeting,” Larson said. “Alex and I, we were fine after the race. I appreciate him coming down and talking to me. I knew it wasn’t on purpose, so it’s hard for me to be angry and upset at somebody, especially a teammate, when you know it’s not on purpose.”
Afterward, the incident was all but an afterthought on the team plane as Bowman and Larson shared a row for the flight back. A long post-race celebration for teammate Chase Elliott’s second win of the season gave them plenty of time to chat while waiting on the tarmac for other team members to board.
“Alex and I were fine. We flew home together, sat next to each other on the airplane and had to wait a couple hours …” Larson said. “So we were going about things like nothing happened, and I think that’s really important, especially as teammates. I pride myself in being a good teammate and I think part of that is getting over things quickly with your teammates.”
NASCAR officials issued a one-race suspension Tuesday to crew chief Johnny Klausmeier for a lug-nut violation found after Sunday’s Cup Series event at Road America.
RELATED: Cup Series standings
The No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driven to a sixth-place finish by Chase Briscoe was found with two unsecured lug nuts in a post-race check after the Jockey Made in America 250. The violation of Section 10.9.10.4 in the NASCAR Rule Book also resulted in a $20,000 fine for Klausmeier, who is in his second season with the No. 14 team.
Klausmeier is set to miss the next Cup Series race, scheduled Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM). Engineer Michael Cook is listed as the interim crew chief for the No. 14 Ford on the entry list for the Quaker State 400.
No post-race penalties stemmed from Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at the 4.048-mile road course.
HAMPTON, Ga. — Following the July 11 Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart, AMS will break ground on a historic project to create the next generation of Atlanta Motor Speedway and a first-of-its-kind, all-new race experience in 2022.
Following 10 months of confidential research, development, testing and simulation with engineers and iRacing, the reprofile will increase the current 24-degree banking in Atlanta’s turns to 28 degrees—higher than any other intermediate track on the current NASCAR circuit. Straightaway banking will remain five degrees. In addition to the new high banks, the racing surface will become narrower with an overall decrease in width from 55 feet to 40 feet. New widths will be 52 feet on the front stretch, 42 feet on the back stretch and 40 feet in the turns.
The project will pave the way for a bold new era of NASCAR racing in Atlanta.
RELATED: 2021 Cup Series schedule | Quaker State 400 tickets
“As Atlanta’s racing surface has aged, we’ve challenged ourselves to reimagine what NASCAR racing at an intermediate track can be,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. “With high banks in the turns, narrower width and new pavement technology, Atlanta will be unlike any other mile-and-a-half track on the circuit. It’s all new for ’22 and this will be specifically designed for close, competitive racing.”
The reconfiguration of Atlanta Motor Speedway is the latest innovative first from Speedway Motorsports, which has repeatedly redefined what’s possible in NASCAR. From the debut of the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway, to the first NASCAR Cup Series race held on dirt since 1970 at Bristol Motor Speedway and NASCAR’s first trip to Circuit of The Americas earlier this year, Speedway Motorsports has been a driving force behind many of NASCAR’s most highly-anticipated events.
Construction is slated to begin the week following the July 11 Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart, with the next generation Atlanta Motor Speedway making its debut in 2022 in conjunction with NASCAR’s Next Gen car.
RELATED: Cup Series Next Gen cars unveiled
“Our partners at Speedway Motorsports have reprofiled Atlanta Motor Speedway to optimize the racing with the Next Gen car, and early simulations suggest the racing will be closer and even more competitive,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. “From the Charlotte ROVAL to the Bristol Dirt Race and now a re-imagined Atlanta, Marcus Smith and his team continue to take bold, innovative steps to bring unique and exciting racing experiences to our fans.”
Throughout the development process, Speedway Motorsports has partnered with iRacing to test and verify concepts for the future Atlanta Motor Speedway. The world- renowned motorsports simulator not only provided a virtual rendering of each concept, but also provided key data on how NASCAR’s Next Gen car will perform on the reconfigured 1.54-mile oval.
“Flexing the muscles of our virtual track-building capabilities to prototype Speedway Motorsport’s vision for Atlanta Motor Speedway has been a fun and exciting process,” said iRacing Executive Vice President and Executive Producer Steve Myers. “From one concept to the next, we’ve seen the future of AMS take shape; all without moving a shovel of dirt in the real world.”
The current asphalt at AMS is the oldest racing surface the NASCAR Cup Series will visit in 2021. Since its last repave in 1997, the speedway has hosted 38 NASCAR Cup Series races, 24 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, 20 Camping World Truck Series races, 10 ARCA Series races, four IndyCar Series races on its 1.54-mile oval plus countless U.S. Legends and Bandolero car races on its frontstretch quarter-mile “Thunder Ring.”
AMS has played host to some of NASCAR’s most memorable moments on the current surface, including Dale Earnhardt’s 0.010-second margin of victory over Bobby Labonte in 2000, Kevin Harvick’s emotional and record-setting 0.006-second margin of victory over Jeff Gordon in Earnhardt’s Richard Childress Racing car the following year, Carl Edwards last-lap pass on Jimmie Johnson to earn his first Cup Series victory in 2005, and a legendary battle to the checkers between Gordon and Johnson in 2011.
“Our operations staff has done everything possible to extend the life of our racing surface, and as a result fans have enjoyed some historic moments and fantastic finishes at Atlanta,” said AMS Executive Vice President and General Manager Brandon Hutchison. “While this asphalt cannot outlast Father Time, the memories of the great racing will last forever. NASCAR’s best will have one more chance to add to the legacy of this surface with a grand finale at the Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart on July 11.”
The NASCAR Xfinity Series gets the first crack at Atlanta’s slick and abrasive track surface during the Credit Karma Money 250 on Saturday, July 10. The weekend is headlined by the Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart on Sunday, July 11, with Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, and the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series’ stars battling for glory.
For more information or to purchase tickets to the July 10-11 Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart weekend, visit www.AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.
Two burnouts for Chase Elliott. Two thumbs-up for Road America.
NASCAR’s premier series returned to the 4.048-mile course for the first time in 65 years, and the weekend in Wisconsin did not disappoint. The sport’s reigning champion celebrated his second win of the 2021 season with donuts on the frontstretch and one final victory lap in his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Encore chants then unexpectedly erupted in Turn 5.
“Man, they were fired up,” Elliott said. “The amount of peer pressure I felt to do a burnout was, like, wow. I don’t know that I’ve ever had that much peer pressure in my life to do a burnout.”
RELATED: Watch Chase Elliott burn rubber at Road America
Obviously the three-time Most Popular Driver caved to the pressure.
Elliott is a Georgia native, though. He can count how many times he has been to Wisconsin on one hand.
“I don’t really feel like I’ve earned the right to have that kind of support in this region,” Elliott said. “But it was amazing. I was super humbled by that. Just the people in general. Whether you’re in 9 gear or not, there were just a lot of people here. I was just struck by how big of race fans we have and had here today. This place was packed.”
It really was. Hard attendance numbers weren’t released, but chatter of the main event being sold out circulated in all areas of the garage – among fans, media and drivers.
Without assigned seating, Road America easily fit that quantity, too. The track owns 640 acres of land with more than 1,500 campsites. Paths, bridges and tunnels make the complex walkable, albeit a lot of time on the feet. Golf carts were available to rent for that reason.
RELATED: Exploring Road America’s cuisine
“I rolled around to the back straightaway, just tried to get a feel for the vibe,” said Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports’ vice president of competition. “I hadn’t been here in 20-plus years. This venue is still just as exciting today for me as what it was when I came here 20-something years ago. It’s a beautiful facility.”
Really, the Cup Series was rather late to the game. Road America has hosted the Xfinity Series since 2010, and it also is a stop for IMSA, IndyCar, MotoAmerica and other leagues. The track’s schedule lists events from March to November.
Unlike Elliott, Knaus is from the Midwest area. He hails from northern Illinois. The successful turnout therefore wasn’t a surprise.
“Racing up here is such a huge deal, always has been,” Knaus said. “You can name hundreds of greats that came out of this area, not only from the driver standpoint but from the mechanics, crew chiefs, all that. Deep-rooted motorsports group up here.
“Any time you go into a venue, you see memorabilia on the walls – photographs, hoods, the beer signs with Dale Jr. on them. All that stuff is everywhere, right? People really love motorsports up here.”
RELATED: Road America at-track photos
Race day also just so happened to fall on the Fourth of July itself. For the longest time – 60 years, to be exact – Daytona International Speedway held dibs on the holiday weekend. That changed in 2020, when Indianapolis Motor Speedway had its chance. Road America then took a turn this year – and quite frankly, presented a strong case for a repeat next season.
Regardless of the date, tickets for the 2022 NASCAR weekend at Road America are already on sale.
“Could you have asked for anything better?” Knaus said. “Holy smokes, it was phenomenal.”
Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 of the 20 NASCAR Cup Series races this season, including an overly successful span of seven victories in the last eight events. Sunday’s latest stat-stretcher was led by a resounding win by Chase Elliott, who rose to late-race prominence at Road America to fortify his road-course resume.
RELATED: Road America results | Chase Elliott prevails
The organization that’s led the way in performance this season kept that perch in Sunday’s Jockey Made in America 250 presented by Kwik Trip, adding to benchmarks set recently and in the long term. Elliott now sits alone in third place on NASCAR’s all-time road course win list, leading all active Cup Series drivers with seven career victories on the tour’s twisty layouts. Hendrick Motorsports accounts for 23 road-course wins — that all-time mark propelled not only by Elliott’s tally but by Jeff Gordon’s record nine victories on that track type.
Most of the races during Hendrick’s recent tear have featured its supporting cast elbowing its way into the remaining podium spots for 1-2 finishes or better. Not so Sunday, though, as all three of Elliott’s teammates found trouble in Turn 5. William Byron overcooked the hard left-hander on Lap 49 of 62, knocking him back to an eventual result in 33rd. With six laps remaining, Alex Bowman’s brake-less No. 48 Chevrolet barreled into Kyle Larson’s No. 5, hampering both. Larson plugged on to finish 16th with Bowman 22nd.
That misfortune allowed Joe Gibbs Racing front-runners to fill the podium gaps. Christopher Bell regained some long-lost spark in second place, and teammate Kyle Busch continued his resurgence in third. Those inroads by JGR and other organizations in close pursuit are what’s kept Hendrick Motorsports pushing forward, even while atop the heap.
MORE: Runner-up Christopher Bell, JGR make gains
“We all understand the ebb and the flow of the way the performance circle is in motorsports,” said Chad Knaus, Hendrick’s vice president of competition. “It’s our job right now to continue to try to execute at a high level, continue to try to find advantages with our race cars. But we know that the Gibbs guys and the Penske guys, everybody else in the industry, is doing the exact same thing.
“We’ve got to stay on point. We can’t sit back. We may have had one car win today, but we had other cars that didn’t. We understand the importance of continuing to push. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports right now is doing that. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of.”
Hendrick’s teamwork spirit was likely at its collegial peak at Dover in May, when the organization went 1-2-3-4 in the finishing order to kick off its recent eight-race romp. But when teams compete in close enough quarters, invariably contact can — and usually does — result.
Such was Sunday’s outcome, when hard racing on the demanding 4.048-mile circuit cost Bowman his braking power, triggering the Turn 5 tangle. Post-race, the two met on pit road for a brief discussion that was low on the drama scale. Knaus says he intends to keep it that way.
“I don’t think there’s anything for us to be concerned about from a management standpoint at Hendrick Motorsports,” Knaus said. “There’s a tremendous amount of respect between our drivers, crew chiefs and teams. It was unfortunate. It was a racing situation. But we’ll get home, talk about it, make sure there’s nothing ill willed that comes out of this.”
RELATED: Chad Knaus says there’s no concern with Larson-Bowman incident
On Sunday at least, the run-in sparked no perceptible animosity, and — more importantly for Elliott — no caution period. Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Elliott’s No. 9 team, was thankful for the latter as his driver steamed on during the final green-flag stretch to pad the organization’s already impressive stats.
“Those are tough circumstances,” Gustafson said of the Bowman-Larson incident. “Hey, man, those guys do a great job. We’ve got great teammates. Guys that we genuinely like to race with. It happens. Not what any of us wanted to see. It’s not what he wanted to see or the 5 or us certainly. Fortunately for us, it didn’t impede our progress.”
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Kurt Busch felt like he was on a roll Sunday, and he really never did backtrack at Road America. At least not when it mattered.
The No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet driver fired off from the 16th starting position. By the end of Stage 1 on Lap 14, Busch made it up to ninth. Then, come Lap 29 for the Stage 2 conclusion, he survived a slight off-course detour and knocked off another four spots. When the checkered flag waved on Lap 62, Busch was sitting pretty in fourth – matching his best finish of 2021.
“It was like shooting three-pointers like Steph Curry,” Busch said. “We were draining them. We got good stage points today and then the top five at the end.”
RELATED: Official results | At-track photos
In total, Busch tallied 41 points in the Jockey Made in America 250 – eight from the stages and 33 from his finish.
That strong performance padded his standing in the playoff picture. Busch entered the 20th points-paying race in the 16th and final transfer spot. He stays there, but his buffer on the cutline went from three points to 25.
Above Busch is Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who took a risk toward the end of Sunday’s second stage that ultimately paid off.
“We stayed out during Stage 2 and played a little bit of strategy to grab our first stage win of the year, which is great for our points situation in the standings,” Reddick said. “By doing that, we did trade off a little bit and (had) to climb back up through the field in the final stage. But I was confident we had both the speed and handling to do so.”
Reddick finished eighth and now sits 75 points to the good. He was at plus-48 entering the Fourth of July weekend.
Ahead of Reddick is fellow RCR driver Austin Dillon. He did not score any stage points on the way to an 11th-place run at Road America. His safety net only increased by seven points, currently at 98.
Those in immediate jeopardy: Chris Buescher (Roush Fenway Racing) is first out. Busch’s teammate, Ross Chastain, is 18th with a 69-point deficit. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (JTG Daugherty Racing) is 70 points to the bad in 19th.
Chastain is a new face in that group. Before Road America, he was way back in 22nd. A seventh-place result Sunday – paired with two top fives in the stages (fifth, then third) – launched him into playoff talk.
“(Chastain) came up to me on pit road and he says, ‘Hey, what do I got to do for stage points today?’ ” Busch said. “I said, ‘Race your car. Race the race track. Your team will put you in position.’ That’s how you get stage points. I think you have to follow the team’s lead. You can’t push and overstep the boundary.
“He came away with a clean day, so he still has a chance at making these playoffs.”
Busch and Chastain pulled off these strong finishes just four days after finding out their team has been sold, too. Trackhouse Racing Team announced last Wednesday it has purchased Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR operation, effective immediately after the 2021 season. That leaves the two drivers’ futures in question.
RELATED: Kurt Busch says Ganassi-Trackhouse news was a surprise
“It’s been a crazy week,” Chastain said. “We still race for Chip Ganassi and Team Chevy, and we’re going to keep pushing and keep trying to win.”
That’s truly the only way to guarantee anyone a shot at the title.
A win would lock any of these playoff bubble drivers into postseason contention, and their next opportunity awaits Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). There are then five more races before the regular-season finale on Aug. 28 at Daytona International Speedway – a 2.5-mile fast track known for its drama and chaos.
“We’re chasing those guys down,” Busch said. “We need a cushion before getting to that Daytona race.”
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Christopher Bell is gaining his confidence back.
After two-plus months of finishes outside the top five and only one top-10 result in the past 10 races, Christopher Bell pulled off a second-place showing in Sunday’s Jockey Made in America 250 at Road America. His No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crossed the finish line 5.705 seconds behind Chase Elliott’s race-winning No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
“I think it was close,” Bell said. “Probably closer than anybody else was to the 9, so that’s good. At the end of the race, I don’t know, they kept telling me I was matching, if not a little better on lap time. Just never had track position to start up with him and see what we had against a whole run.”
RELATED: Official results | At-track photos
The speed was indeed there. That was not an exaggeration. Bell registered a faster lap time than Elliott in nine of the 17 closing green-flag circuits around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn course.
There was a late-race restart on Lap 46. Bell took the green flag from the seventh position. Aric Almirola was in the lead after opting not to pit with the rest of the field. Ryan Blaney was alongside him, already on pit road when the caution previously came out. Bell’s teammate, Kyle Busch, and Elliott took the second row after pitting.
“I just wanted us to get single-filed out,” Bell said. “And once we did, I was able to pick them off one at a time.”
Busch ended up third at the checkers. Kurt Busch was fourth. And then another JGR member, Denny Hamlin, was fifth.
Joe Gibbs Racing actually had all four of its drivers in the top 10; Martin Truex Jr. placed ninth. Hendrick Motorsports, meanwhile, only had Elliott among the front-runners. Kyle Larson was back in 16th, Alex Bowman wound up 22nd, and William Byron turned out 33rd.
So, while Hendrick Motorsports has been dominant lately – claiming seven of the last eight trophies – Joe Gibbs Racing is catching up.
“We all ran up front,” said Busch, who is the outlier in that eight-race stretch. “We all had good speed. It showed that we were close.”
Truex (three wins), Busch (two) and Bell (one) have all won this season, so they’re guaranteed a spot in the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs. Hamlin has yet to reach Victory Lane, but he does currently sit atop the point standings.
“I think we can all anticipate the Gibbs guys are going to run stronger and stronger,” said Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports’ vice president of competition. “We know they weren’t going to be on their heels for long.”
Six races remain in the regular season, starting with Atlanta Motor Speedway next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN), and two of those are road courses.
Hendrick Motorsports has won two of the three road races so far this season. The other one? Bell back in February, his first career win at the top level.
“It’s been a trying last two months, but we feel like we’re getting back on track,” Bell said. “There’s no reason why we can’t be running up front every week.”
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — After one event in “exile,” Chase Elliott once again is King of the Road.
The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion passed Kyle Busch for the lead on Lap 46 of 62 and cruised to victory in Sunday’s Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip, the first Cup race at the 4.048-mile road course in 65 years.
RELATED: Official results | At-track photos
The win was Elliott’s second of the season and the 13th of his career. Seven of those victories have come on road courses, including this year’s debut race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Elliott had to settle for second to teammate Kyle Larson in last month’s event at Sonoma Raceway.
Unable to complete a flying lap because of two ill-timed cautions during qualifying, Elliott started Sunday‘s race 34th in a field of 40. By the end of Stage 1, he was 10th, and by pitting three laps before the end of Stage 2, he positioned himself for a front-row restart for the final stage.
“Just really proud of our team for overcoming some adversity early and having to start in the back, having good pit stops,” said Elliott, who restarted fifth on Lap 46 after the final caution of the race for Anthony Alfredo’s spin into a Turn 1 gravel trap.
“Had a really fast NAPA Chevrolet. Just so proud. We’ve had a rough few weeks, so it feels really good.”
Less than a lap after that final restart, Elliott pulled alongside Busch entering the Kink (Turn 11) on the backstretch and cleared him through Turn 12. Sixteen laps later, Elliott finished 5.705 seconds ahead of runner-up Christopher Bell, who passed Busch for the second position on Lap 58.
Elliott, who clinched a spot in the Cup Series Playoff with the win, finally got a feel for the mammoth road course after frustrating practice and qualifying sessions.
“Yeah, I never felt like I got in a real good rhythm all of yesterday (in practice),” Elliott said. “For whatever reason there, after about halfway through the race, I started finding some of that rhythm, was able to put it together, piece different parts of the track.
“Finally I felt like I was able to piece most of it together. Yeah, stayed with it and glad it worked out.”
Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 of 20 races this season and seven of the last eight. Elliott has the most road course victories among active drivers, is third all-time behind Jeff Gordon (nine wins) and Tony Stewart (eight) and has won at more different road courses (five) than any other driver in Cup history.
Bell overcame a tail-end-of-the-field penalty for driving through more than three pit boxes on Lap 15.
“Here the last couple weeks, I’ve been really proud of the progress we’ve made,” said Bell, who picked up his first Cup win in the second race of the season at the Daytona Road Course. “I’m just proud to drive for everybody on this 20 group at Joe Gibbs Racing.
“Excited for the future. I know there’s more to come. Like I said, there’s no reason why we can’t run up front every week.”
Kyle Busch started from the rear of the field and finished third in a backup car after wrecking his primary No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Kink during Saturday’s practice.
Brother Kurt Busch came home fourth and increased his lead to 25 points over Chris Buescher in the race for the final playoff position. Series points leader Denny Hamlin came home fifth, giving Joe Gibbs Racing three cars in the top five.
Chase Briscoe was the top-finishing Ford driver in sixth, matching his best result of the season. Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto completed the top 10.
For the second straight day, Austin Cindric had an excellent run spoiled by unfortunate circumstances.
Cindric, who qualified fifth, had just retaken the lead from DiBenedetto on Lap 24 when a mechanical issue thwarted his hopes for a maiden Cup victory. Cindric ran wide in Turn 5 with a broken axle and spun shortly thereafter.
“I only had one-wheel drive, and when you only have two other ones spinning with 750 horsepower, it’s a bit challenging,” said Cindric, who salvaged an eighth-place finish in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race after a late chain-reaction wreck. “It was quite dramatic taking the lead and then immediately losing everything. Not a weekend I’m necessarily happy about.”
Pole winner William Byron led the first 15 laps and won Stage 1 but finished 33rd after spinning off course in the final stage after a bump from teammate Alex Bowman. Reddick earned the Playoff point for winning Stage 2 after Elliott, Kyle Busch and Truex made strategic pit stops ahead of him.
The race was the first event for the Cup Series at the 4.048-mile Wisconsin road course since 1956, when NASCAR Hall of Famer Tim Flock prevailed in a Mercury. The Xfinity Series has raced at the Elkhart Lake venue each year since 2010.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ next event is scheduled for Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM).
Note: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage was completed without major issue. The No. 14 Ford of Briscoe was found with two unsecured lug nuts, which is expected to result in a one-race suspension for crew chief Johnny Klausmeier when penalties are announced later this week.
Contributing: Staff reports