NASCAR
Chase Elliott Holds off Martin Truex Jr for First Career Cup Series Win at Watkins Glen
After going 3-wide for the lead in the race’s first turns, Chase Elliott held off a late race charge at Watkins Glen from Martin Truex Jr in order to score his first career Cup Series win. This win comes in Elliott’s 99th career start, and is the 250th for Hendrick Motorsports. However, the race was taken from one of the strongest cars just past halfway. Lap 56 saw Kyle Busch’s team have a botched pit stop. From that point on, it was all Elliott leading the way. In the end, Chase would take the checkers over a limping 78 car, as Truex ran out of gas on the last lap.
Prerace Highlights
The weekend began with qualifying on Saturday, where Joe Gibbs Racing showed their strength for the 2.45 mile road course. After 2 rounds of knockout qualifying, Denny Hamlin barely beat out Kyle Busch for the pole. Right behind them was Chase Elliott, who was fastest in final practice. With a beautiful forecast for Sunday, it was sure to be a perfect day for racing.
Intense Racing Early On
From the drop of the green flag, the racing for the lead was intense and action-packed. On the initial start, Chase Elliott took the JGR teammates 3 wide into turn 1. The 9 car would eventually fall back to 3rd place. Denny Hamlin would lead early, before Kyle Busch muscled his way by.
Busch would hold the lead over Martin Truex Jr until his first pit stop on lap 17. However, the race for 3rd place behind them was exciting, between 2 drivers with a history. Denny Hamlin was fighting hard to stay ahead of Chase Elliott. Elliott, 22, was looking for his first career Cup Series win in his 99th start. Chase was very aggressive, as he had a strong car and wanted to catch the 18.
Promising Day Ends Early for Logano
After qualifying in 6th position, Joey Logano thought his 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford was fast enough to challenge for the win. However, Logano’s chances at the win would go up in smoke after contact on lap 2. After Denny Hamlin stalled while racing Kyle Busch for the lead, it caused a chain reaction incident. This resulted in Logano’s car hitting Kyle Larson. The contact caused Joey to run off track in turn 6, but he was able to limp to pit road.
After some brief inspection, his team diagnosed a broken oil cooler. This led to the 22 team heading to the garage for further repairs. To their detriment, they were on the Damaged Vehicle Repair Clock upon entering pit road. Once going into the garage, the 22 team was done for the day, per NASCAR rules. Logano was less than pleased afterwards at being done so early. There was a clear miscommunication between NASCAR and the 22 team. The early exit for car number 22 would result in a disappointing last place finish for Logano. Logano was looking to sweep the weekend after Saturday’s Xfinity Series win. In an unfortunate twist, Logano he would end the Cup race in 37th place.
Calm Opening Stages at The Glen
After Kyle Busch made his 1st pit stop on lap 17, the lead was handed over to Martin Truex Jr in the 78. The 78 would stay on track despite many others pitting, and win Stage 1. Truex was looking to win back-to-back races at The Glen. The 2017 champion was also looking for his 3rd straight road course win after conquering Sonoma in June.
For the start of Stage 2, it was Kyle Busch with the lead once again at The Glen. Restarting behind him was Hamlin and Elliott. The restart saw Kyle hold the lead, while Chase moved into the 2nd position. A few laps later, after hunting down the 18, Chase Elliott passed Kyle for the lead into turn 7. Chase would hold on to win Stage 2, his 3rd straight race with a stage win.
Untimely Pit Road Errors For Several Drivers
Kyle would maneuver his way around Chase for the top spot once again on lap 45. This lead change happened after the final stage had begun. Only 10 laps later, the eventual final caution would come out when Matt Dibenedetto stalled his 32 car in the bus stop. Under this caution, a series of pit road errors by drivers and crew shuffled up the running order up front. 2 of the team afflicted were the 18 and the 11. The 11 was penalized for removing equipment from the pit box. Denny dragged the air gun out onto pit road and then hit a tire. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch’s winning performance went away when his team had trouble getting fuel in the 18 car. Kyle would have to pit again to get his car full with gas.
As a result of these error by their pit crews, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin would be forced to restart outside of the top 30. With almost half of the race left, Busch and Hamlin were able to somewhat recover. Busch would run all the way up to the 3rd position, while Hamlin finished in 13th.
Elliott Holds Off the Field For His First Career Cup Series Win
On the lap 59 restart, it was Chase Elliott with the lead, and Austin Dillon to his outside. Behind them were Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Elliott would clear for the lead by turn 1, and Truex would pass Busch for P2 a few laps later. From that point on, Elliott had to manage his gap over the 78 Toyota. For several laps, the 78 car was faster than the 9. Truex slowly narrowed his deficit from nearly 2 seconds down to mere car lengths.
On the last lap, Elliott and Truex were nose-to-tail heading into turn 1. Elliott missed his mark just slightly and ran wide, giving Truex another shot to close in. However Elliott nailed the rest of the lap, as Truex ran out of gas in turn 6. Elliott was able to take the checkers over 7 seconds ahead of Truex for his first career Cup Series win.
History Repeats Itself For Elliott’s First Win
In attendance at Watkins Glen was Chase Elliott’s legendary father, ‘Awesome’ Bill Elliott. The Hall-of-Famer was helping his son by spotting for him in the carousel turn. Much like with his father 35 years ago, Chase’s first career Cup Series win came on a road course. It also occurred after Chase finished 2nd 8 in previous races, another mark he mirrors his father in.
Not only is this win a milestone for Chase Elliott, it’s also a big moment for Hendrick Motorsports. This win marks victory number 250 for the storied team. With this win, Chase Elliott is now locked into the 2018 Playoffs. This will mark Elliott’s 3rd straight appearance in the postseason. Watkins Glen is also the first win for Team Hendrick in 37 races, since the Brickyard 400 last year. Only time will tell how many wins HMS will finish 2018 with.
The remainder of the top 10 finishers from Watkins Glen were Truex, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick.
How to Watch the Next Race
Week 23 for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be the return visit to Michigan International Speedway, for the Consumers Energy 400. Michigan race coverage is next Sunday, August 12, on NBCSN, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 at 2:30 PM EST. The June Michigan race was cut short by rain, so who will stand tall after 400 miles at Michigan this time around?
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