Chase Elliott saves Hendrick Motorsport's clumsy day and opens up the possibility of Toyota's rout by winning a rainy race at the Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night It was interrupted.
Elliott recovered from his early problems, dropping him deep into the field, taking the lead with 38 laps remaining and having three Joe Gibbs racing drivers to win his second cup of the season. I suppressed it.
NASCAR's most popular drivers took nearly seven hours to reach the winning lane, slowing down four laps of shootout. NASCAR moved up the start12 minutes due to bad weather, followed by an hour of lightning outages in the area, followed by more than two hours of rain.
"We are very proud of our team," Elliott said. "I was a little frustrated on the way and I was able to dial in the Chevrolet back into the mix. It was a long and fun day."
Chase Elliott is the Nashville Superspeedway. (Meg Oliphant / Getty Images))
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The race resumed halfway and it was unclear whether the team would complete 300 laps or stop the race early due to heavy rain. Toyota controlled almost the entire event, with four drivers leading 253 laps, while the fifth Hendrick crew finished Elliott's Chevrolet.
"We were" (The) Bad News Bears "at first, but at the end it was really good to understand it correctly," said crew chief Alan Gustafsson. ..
He got the race when he was warned with nine laps remaining and Elliott didn't pit in from the lead of the fresh tires. The other nine drivers went on track with him to create a pack of traffic that would prevent Toyotafrom catching Elliott afterstopped by for new tires.
"I thought it would come. I didn't want it," Elliott said with caution. He led twice in 42 laps. However, he pulled away on a restart and defeated Kurt Busch in 0.551 seconds with Toyota at 23XI Racing.
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"Winning is always a big deal, like Nashville. The cool city is even better. I'm looking forward to that guitar, "Elliott said of the traditional winner trophy in Nashville.
"These things are hard to get and you have to enjoy. I don't know when or when you will get another. So thank you very much and look forward to next week.
Elliott's other victory this season was Dover, a concrete track like Nashville.
Bush, who led three laps for Toyota, said he should have had more trouble with Elliott on his final restart.
"I softened him. I should have thrown a fender and gained momentum," Bush said. "I had to stick to my strength and I was confused. Our way of running, one second is cool, but we are here for victory."
Ryan Blaney was third in Ford and Elliott's teammate Kyle Larson was the winner of the defending race. The JGR trio of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. fell to 6th, 21st and 22nd after a late decision to stop the tires prior to the final restart.
MIXED HENDRICK DAY
Immediately after resuming following an early lightning delay, the Hendrick Motorsport race worsened in a two-lap sequence.
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William Byron garages with a broken Chevrolet steering rack Headed for. The race resumed, and one lap later, Alex Bowman was severely damaged when he spun due to contact with Collie Lajoy.
Bowman ridiculed Rajowa's talent on his team's radio, and Rajoy asked his team to apologize to Bowman on his behalf. During a long rain delay a few hours later, LaJoie posted a T-shirt design on Twitter with the words "Really Good Race Car Driver" to mimic Bowman's insults.
However, Bowman, sponsored by Ally, who has invested heavily in NASCAR's return to the Nashville market, suffered damage. The company is an entitlement sponsor of Cup Racing and has been greatly rejuvenated at several attractions in downtown Nashville.
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Bowman hopes to improve his finish in 14th place last year He returned to the event — he felt unacceptable because of Allie's significant presence on the Speedway. He finished last in the field of 36 cars.
BAD MOOD BUBBA
Baba Wallace lost his temper with the crew of 23XI Racing as he had to pit in from 6th place due to loose wheels. It was. He cursed the crew and then said he didn't want to talk to them for the rest of the race.
"Please leave me (swearing)," he sent the radio to Team 23. "Don't talk to me in the rest of the race."
Crew Chief Bootie Barker tried to calm drivers everywhere on the map of Nashville. He was the fastest in Friday's practice, but then finished in 30th place as team co-owner Michael Jordan watched from Pit-Road.
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"We're not out of it," Barker said. Answered. "I know you are (angry), and you deserve to do so."
Wallace restarts in 31st place, the last car on the lead lap. did. He gathered to finish in 12th place.
UP NEXT
NASCAR's Cup Series will race for the third time on the Road America Road Course in Wisconsin. Elliott is a defending champion.
