Elliott Edges Ahead for Talladega Victory

Photo by Peter Stratta/TSJSports

NASCAR

Chase Elliott Takes Fifth Win of 2022 at Talladega, Onto Round of 8

TALLADEGA, Ala. – In a surprisingly calm 500 miles from Talladega, a Playoff contender finally finds victory lane. Chase Elliott took his fifth win of the year after a last-lap pass on Ryan Blaney. This Talladega win locks Elliott’s 9 team into the Round of 8. Elliott flexed his muscles early, taking a Stage win en route to a potential Playoff-defining win.

Both Stages would be decided by last-lap moves coming to the line. In Stage 1, Ryan Blaney barely beat Denny Hamlin to the green-and-white checkers, taking the win by a bumper.

Stage 2 saw another tight finish, as Chase Elliott swept to Kyle Larson’s outside off of turn four. Amazingly through both Stages, only one major incident occurred, sending just Harrison Burton and Ty Gibbs to the garage.

Over the closing laps, Ryan Blaney asserted himself as best in class while leading. With help from Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain pushing, the 12 was a near-constant threat up front.

A restart with just two laps left though would pit Ryan Blaney against Erik Jones on the front row. With what Blaney called too good of a restart, he cleared the pack almost immediately into turn one. This allowed Chase Elliott to catch up on Blaney’s outside, with enough momentum off of turn four to clear the 12 and take the win. Even with arguable too big of a lead, Elliott was able to block Blaney coming to the checkers.

“First how about these fans man?” Elliott said in front of a raucous Alabama crowd. “That’s unreal, moments like that you have to really cherish, and you guys are what makes this special to me. Thank you sincerely, I really appreciate it.”

“Yeah, it was a wild last couple laps. I wasn’t super crazy about being on the bottom. Fortunately I got just clear enough off of two to slide up in front of Erik. He gave me some great shoves. Obviously a Team Chevy partner there.

“Yeah, just had a good enough run to get out front, then I was able to stay far enough in front of Ryan here at the line to get it done.

“These things are so, so hard to win. You got to enjoy ’em. Just appreciate everybody’s effort today. NAPA, Chevrolet, all of our partners that make this happen. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, the engine shop. The boss is here, so excited to celebrate with him. Get ready to go to the Roval and try to grab another one.”

“Thank you guys so much for coming out. Great crowd, great show.”

Behind Elliott and Blaney at the finish were Michael McDowell, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, and Chase Briscoe. Hear from some of these top finishers and other Playoff contenders below.

With Chase Elliott as the only driver safe, the Round of 12 ends next week at the Charlotte Roval. 11 teams will battle for seven berths remaining in the Round of 8, as points are great for some and dreadful for others. Don’t miss a moment of action for the fifth-annual Bank of America Roval 400, Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. With no pressure now, could Chase Elliott score a third career Roval win?

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports