This Sunday,the NASCAR Cup Series will make its way to the2.439-mile road course inside theIndianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana for theVerizon...
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE - JULY 15: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 UniFirst Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on July 15, 2020 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Chase Elliott is the brightest of all the NASCAR All-Stars.
At least he was Wednesday.
Elliott won the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, which was hosting the event for the first time. It was just the second time in All-Star Race history that it was not at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1986).
Bragging rights for winning an All-Star Race is one thing, but Elliott also took home the $1 million prize awaiting the victor.
It appeared as if Kyle Busch would make a final push when he moved into second place during the 15-lap sprint on Stage 4, but Elliott held him off without much drama for his first All-Star Race win.
The No. 9 car prevailed in a 20-car field that was filled with competitors who satisfied specific criteria. Todd Haislop of Sporting News explained 16 of the spots were filled by drivers who either won a points event in 2019 or 2020, won a NASCAR All-Star Race and compete full-time or won a NASCAR Cup Series title and compete full-time.
Aric Almirola, William Byron, Matt DiBenedetto and Clint Bowyer captured the other four spots at the NASCAR All-Star Open, which happened right before the main event. The first three won stages in the Open, while Bowyer won the fan vote.
The entire field faced four stages of 55 laps, 35 laps, 35 laps and 15 laps and a choose rule, which allowed all drivers and not just the leader to choose their lanes for restarts.
However, attention was elsewhere before the drivers started their engines.
Mike Hembree of USA Today reported a Confederate flag banner was flown over Bristol Motor Speedway before the race with the Sons of Confederate Veterans' website on it. NASCAR's decision to ban the flag from its events made national headlines with Bubba Wallace—an outspoken proponent of the Black Lives Matter movement and NASCAR's only full-time Black driver on the top series—spearheading the efforts.
On the track, Martin Truex Jr. was supposed to start in the pole position but was pushed to the rear because of two technical failures. That gave the pole spot to Alex Bowman, but Ryan Blaney passed him and the rest of the field on the way to a Stage 1 win.
Elliott rode that momentum to a stage win, although the stages did not carry any larger meaning such as playoff points or prize money outside of the formatting of the race.
That was unfortunate news for Elliott, who continued to pace the field through Stage 3 after battling side-by-side with Blaney for the lead for almost two laps. That set the table for the 15-lap sprint to the finish, although caution laps did not count in the final stage.
While a sprint could bring drama, there was little question about who the best car was Wednesday.
Elliott completed his dominant showing with the win.
NASCAR at Charlotte 2020 Results: Chase Elliott Secures 1st Victory of Season
May 28, 2020
Chase Elliott drives during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
From heartbreak to victory.
A mere four days after losing what appeared to be a sure win at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott emerged with a victory at Thursday's Alsco Uniforms 500 at the same track.
Elliott took an inside angle and seized the lead from Kevin Harvick with less than 30 laps remaining and unlike on Sunday, he was able to turn the late lead into a checkered flag.
The No. 9 car was also in a position to win the Coca-Cola 600 when William Byron spun out, causing a caution and overtime. Elliott went to pit road during the yellow, and Brad Keselowski remained on the track and eventually finished first.
There was no what-could-have-been for Elliott this time around.
This was the fourth NASCAR Cup Series event since the sport returned from a hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Elliott joined Kevin Harvick (Real Heroes 400 on May 17), Denny Hamlin (Toyota 500 on May 20) and Keselowski as victors.
Here is a look at the top 10 finishers:
1. Chase Elliott
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
5. Kurt Busch
6. Joey Logano
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Austin Dillon
9. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Kevin Harvick
While the drama came late Sunday, it started well before Elliott crossed the finish line Thursday.
There was a crash on the very first lap thatendedJoey Gase's day when he was unable to meet the minimum speed following the wreck. Stage 1 also saw Corey LaJoie hit Byron on pit road, penalties for Clint Bowyer and Hamlin for speeding, and Matt Kenseth spin out attempting to get to pit road.
Mother Nature also made another appearance after pushing the race back from Wednesday to Thursday because of rain. There was a lightning delay that lasted more than an hour, but Joey Logano showed no signs of rust impacting his lead entering the delay and claimed a Stage 1 win.
It was Logano's second stage win of the season and allowed him to break a tie with Hamlin for the most playoff points of the season.
With that stage win, Joey Logano breaks a tie with Denny Hamlin for the most playoff points this season so far.
Harvick also temporarily took the lead but relinquished it to Alex Bowman when he pitted. Bowman clinched his fourth stage win of the Cup Series season, which is more than anyone else at this point.
Bowman's chances came to a shocking end in the final stage, though, as he hit the wall and fell far behind Harvick. Bubba Wallace also saw his race end because of mechanical failures.
Harvick didn't have those concerns, but he fell back down the stretch and ended up in 10th place after Elliott passed him with an inside move. Ryan Blaney appeared like he was going to be the biggest challenger in the final few laps, but nobody was able to make a legitimate push at the eventual winner.
Even with Sunday's disappointment, Elliott now has plenty of momentum following Tuesday's NASCAR Truck Series race win in Charlotte as well.
Next up in the NASCAR Cup Series is the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday.
NASCAR at Dover 2019: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
May 4, 2019
Chase Elliott will hope to seal back-to-back wins in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for the first time in his career when he starts on pole at Dover International Speedway for the Gander RV 400 on Sunday.
Hendrick Motorsports' No. 9 took the top qualifying position in Dover, Delaware, on Friday and will line up in the front row as he looks to build on his first win of the season at Talladega last week.
Elliott will be joined at the front of the race by Hendricks team-mate William Byron, 21, another young gun looking to leave his mark on an experienced field and get his first win of 2019.
NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass posted a complete lineup for the 11th race of this season:
9:05 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (second practice)
12 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (final practice)
Sunday, May 5
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander RV 400
Preview
There are more than 100 points separating drivers' championship standings leader Kyle Busch from Elliott down in seventh, but the latter's season looks to be on the up of late.
The 23-year-old Hendricks Motorsports star finished top 10 in only two of the first nine races this NASCAR Cup Series, but a first win of 2019 in Lincoln, Alabama, last Sunday has transformed his prospects.
Elliott is yet to finish lower than 19th in any race this year and has been a reliable force for his team as they look to drive up the standings. The Georgia native expressed his satisfaction to have team-mate Byron at the front with him after he took the Busch Pole Award in Dover qualifying:
While he may not have won this race specifically, Elliott knows how it feels to triumph at Dover International Speedway after he clinched victory in the Dover Outdoors 400 last season.
That was the first of two wins in the space of three races for him last term, but he's hoping to go one better by recording successive race victories for the first time in his young career come Sunday:
Veteran Jimmie Johnson is yet to win a Series race so far in 2019, but the most successful driver in Dover 400 history will hope this event can yet again bring him some good fortune.
Another star of the Hendricks Motorsports family, Johnson starts in Row 6 and is hoping to recapture a title he's won six times in his career, at least four times more than any other driver. The most recent of those wins came in 2017, with Johnson clinching victory in five of the past 10 editions of the Gander RV 400.
Aric Almirola will drive the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing and lines up in Row 4 alongside Denny Hamlin despite having his car chief ejected on Saturday following two failed inspections.
Standings leader Busch will start on Row 11—one behind older brother Kurt—and is hoping to bring Joe Gibbs Racing a fourth victory of the Cup Series, still yet to place outside the top 10 in any race this term.
