Chase Elliott’s victory in the soggy race at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night prevented a Toyota rout and saved a bad day for Hendrick Motorsports.
With 38 laps remaining, Elliott took the lead and held off three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers to win the race for his second Cup victory of the year after overcoming an early problem that had him running far back in the pack.
Chase Elliott Wins Race At Nashville Superspeedway
The most well-liked driver in NASCAR needed nearly 7 hours and a late four-lap battle to reach the finish line. Due to impending inclement weather, NASCAR accelerated the start by 12 minutes, endured an hour-long stoppage due to nearby lighting, and then endured a subsequent rain delay that went slightly over two hours.
Chase Elliott said, “So proud of our squad.” We experienced a minor setback at the halfway point, but we were able to correct Chevy’s settings and rejoin the race. It was a long yet enjoyable day.
At the halfway mark, the race restarted with teams wondering whether the entire 300 laps would be completed or if the race would end early due to more rain. Four Toyota drivers led a total of 253 laps, effectively controlling the race. However, the No. 5 Hendrick team revitalized Elliott’s Chevrolet in the closing laps.
Chase Elliott did not pit from the lead for new tires when a yellow period with nine laps left came out, and he ended up winning the race. In order to create a pack of traffic that kept the Toyotas from catching Elliott when they stopped for new tires, nine additional cars followed him on the road. Elliott’s second victory this year came at Dover, another concrete track like Nashville.
Busch, a Toyota driver who led three laps, felt Elliott should have been aggressively pursued on the last restart. Only the third time has the Road America road circuit in Wisconsin hosted a NASCAR Cup Series event.
