NASCAR
Chase Elliott Wins Charlotte Xfinity Race in Famed Hendrick No. 17 Chevrolet
CONCORD, N.C. – Moonlighting in the Hendrick Motorsports Xfinity Chevrolet, Chase Elliott takes the No. 17 to its second win of 2024. The past Xfinity Series champion was reunited with his former crew chief Greg Ives, and their late decision to take tires paid off. Elliott now enters the Coca-Cola 600 looking for a weekend sweep at Charlotte.
Despite Cup superstars Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch starting first and second, Justin Allgaier took the Stage 1 win. The No. 7 Chevrolet stalked down and passed Gibbs for the top spot on a short run to the green-checkers. Allgaier put together a Stage sweeping run, gunning for back-to-back May Charlotte wins.
Allgaier’s lightning pace would be derailed by a pit road speeding penalty. For Stage 3, the 7 had to restart at the tail.
Allgaier’s march back to the front would come to an abrupt premature end. While racing for the lead on a late restart, the 7 would make contact with Ty Gibbs, sending Allgaier spinning. The reigning winner of this race would have to settle for a dismal 33rd-place result.
On the next restart, Chase Elliott took command for the first time all day. The Hendrick No. 17 had to outlast one more restart, following a crash between Austin Hill and Cole Custer.
The Cup Series most popular driver was able to hold off a late charge from Brandon Jones, taking his first Xfinity win since 2016.
“Yeah they did a really good job,” Elliott said about his team’s strategy. “Greg (Ives, crew chief) made a good call, and I think ultimately that is what won us the race. I felt like I needed a little bit with my balance and to make as much pace as the 7 and a couple of those guys. Hats off to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. Super special to win with the 17 on the car for the boss and Linda. Obviously a great honor here with the Ricky Hendrick scheme. It just means a lot to all of us that get to be a part of this whenever it runs. I just appreciate the boss, thanks for letting me do it. Glad we could get you a win. Huge thanks to Chevrolet, everybody at the HMS engine shop, the whole bit. It was a good day.”
Behind Elliott’s Hendrick 17 at the checkers were s JR Motorsports trio: Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, and Sam Mayer. AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Ryan Sieg, Josh Williams, Ty Gibbs, and Noah Gragson were the rest of the top-10. Hear from a few of these drivers below.
The Xfinity Series returns to action at their only standalone race of 2024 from Portland International Raceway. The Pacific Office Automation 147 will go green Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Eventual Xfinity champion Cole Custer picked up his first win a year ago at Portland; can another contender lock up their Playoff berth?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to David Jensen/Getty Images
