{"id":21020,"date":"2018-08-05T17:57:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-05T22:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=21020"},"modified":"2018-08-05T18:39:23","modified_gmt":"2018-08-05T23:39:23","slug":"chase-elliott-wins-thriller-at-watkins-glen-to-score-first-cup-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/05\/chase-elliott-wins-thriller-at-watkins-glen-to-score-first-cup-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Chase Elliott wins thriller at Watkins Glen to score first Cup victory"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet, celebrates is victory with his crew in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GoBowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 5, 2018 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. \u2013 History will record that Chase Elliott<\/strong> won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> race by a whopping 7.560 seconds over reigning champion Martin Truex Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GoBowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 5, 2018 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

That description, however, doesn\u2019t do justice to Elliott\u2019s magnificent drive over the final 32 laps of Sunday\u2019s Go Bowling at the Glen, with Truex hounding him every inch of the way before running out of fuel with two corners left.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoly cow, I don\u2019t know what to say\u2014just so thrilled, so emotional, so much relief,\u201d said Elliott, who notched his first win in NASCAR\u2019s foremost series in his 99th<\/sup> start, after recording eight second-place finishes. \u201cWorking on three years, I hadn\u2019t won one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here with a great opportunity today, and I was able to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

The victory came with a sense of accumulating tension that was almost palpable, as Truex repeatedly closed up on Elliott in the braking zones but couldn\u2019t make a run off the corners.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet, is congratulated by his father and NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GoBowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 5, 2018 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Trotman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

And then there was the final lap. There were audible gasps when Elliott wheel-hopped into Turn 1 and lost the six car-length advantage he had built on the second half of the 2.45-mile road course on the penultimate lap.<\/p>\n

“I started to wheel-hop, and I knocked it out of gear in order not to spin out, and luckily I had a big enough gap where he couldn’t get me\u2014but what a day!” exclaimed Elliott, who led 52 laps.<\/p>\n

Elliott led the field to green for a restart on Lap 59 of 90, after race leader Kyle Busch had to return to pit road on Lap 56 to take on fuel after a snafu on the previous lap left him 10 gallons short of a full tank. <\/p>\n

It took Truex most of Lap 59 to pass Kurt Busch for second, and by then Elliott had pulled away to a lead of more than 1.5 seconds, on the way to Chevrolet\u2019s first victory since Austin Dillon took the checkered flag in the season-opening Daytona 500.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could get right to him,\u201d said Truex, who steadily closed the gap until he got almost to the rear bumper of Elliott\u2019s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. \u201cI chased him down from a ways back after that restart. I took a little too long to get around the 41 (Kurt Busch).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet, poses with the winner\u0092s decal on his car in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GoBowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 5, 2018 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cHe checked up, got a lead on us, I just tried all I could to chase him down, and I got there with plenty of time. \u201cIt’s just every time I’d start putting together some good corners and get close enough to him to even think about making a move, I’d get sideways behind him. He did a good job of putting his car exactly where it needed to be and not making a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

And even though Elliott wheel-hopped into Turn 1 on the final lap, Truex\u2019s fuel situation ultimately made the mistake moot.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe missed Turn 1 on the final lap, but I missed the inner loop on the (next-to-last) lap and lost five car lengths to him, so when he made that mistake in 1, I was too far back to capitalize,\u201d Truex said.  \u201cWe ran out of gas anyway coming off of Turn 5 that last lap, so it was really all a moot point. He was going to win regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the fueling glitch, Kyle Busch drove from 31st<\/sup> to finish third without benefit of a subsequent caution. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones, ran fourth and fifth, respectively.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GoBowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 5, 2018 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Trotman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.<\/p>\n

Elliott\u2019s victory, with his father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, spotting for him on the backstretch, was the 250th<\/sup> for Hendrick Motorsports and the first since Kasey Kahne won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 23 of last year.<\/p>\n

When Elliott crossed the finish line for the last time\u2014before running out of gas himself and getting a push to Victory Lane from teammate Jimmie Johnson\u2014he got a loud standing ovation from the fans in the frontstretch grandstand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the coolest thing I\u2019ve ever seen, and I just want you all to know that,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cAnd I am very grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go get some more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Media Center Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Chase Elliott, Alan Gustafson and Bill Elliott – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/WGI_MENCS_Elliott_Gustafson_Hendrick_080518.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/WGI_MENCS_TruexJr_KyBusch_080518.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race – Go Bowling at The Glen<\/p>\n

Watkins Glen International<\/p>\n

Watkins Glen, New York<\/p>\n

Sunday, August 5, 2018<\/p>\n

               1. (3) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 90.<\/p>\n

               2. (4) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 90.<\/p>\n

               3. (2) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 90.<\/p>\n

               4. (21) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 90.<\/p>\n

               5. (9) Erik Jones, Toyota, 90.<\/p>\n

               6. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 90.<\/p>\n

               7. (14) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 90.<\/p>\n

               8. (16) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 90.<\/p>\n

               9. (36) Kurt Busch, Ford, 90.<\/p>\n

               10. (15) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 90.<\/p>\n

               11. (18) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 90.<\/p>\n

               12. (11) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 90.<\/p>\n

               13. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 90.<\/p>\n

               14. (22) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 90.<\/p>\n

               15. (8) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 90.<\/p>\n

               16. (23) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 90.<\/p>\n

               17. (17) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 90.<\/p>\n

               18. (12) Michael McDowell, Ford, 90.<\/p>\n

               19. (19) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 90.<\/p>\n

               20. (20) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 90.<\/p>\n

               21. (10) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 90.<\/p>\n

               22. (7) Aric Almirola, Ford, 90.<\/p>\n

               23. (30) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 90.<\/p>\n

               24. (27) * Parker Kligerman(i), Toyota, 90.<\/p>\n

               25. (29) Bubba Wallace #, Chevrolet, 89.<\/p>\n

               26. (25) David Ragan, Ford, 89.<\/p>\n

               27. (24) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 89.<\/p>\n

               28. (37) Paul Menard, Ford, 89.<\/p>\n

               29. (26) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 89.<\/p>\n

               30. (13) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 89.<\/p>\n

               31. (35) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 88.<\/p>\n

               32. (32) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, Suspension, 77.<\/p>\n

               33. (28) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 75.<\/p>\n

               34. (31) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 73.<\/p>\n

               35. (34) Spencer Gallagher(i), Toyota, 73.<\/p>\n

               36. (33) Josh Bilicki(i), Ford, Electrical, 69.<\/p>\n

               37. (6) Joey Logano, Ford, Accident, 1.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  98.928 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 13 Mins, 44 Secs. Margin of Victory:  7.560 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  4 for 11 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  9 among 5 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   D. Hamlin 1; Kyle Busch 2-17; M. Truex Jr. 18-21; J. Johnson 22; Kyle Busch 23-26; C. Elliott 27-44; Kyle Busch 45-54; D. Hamlin 55; Kyle Busch 56; C. Elliott 57-90.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  C. Elliott 2 times for 52 laps; Kyle Busch 4 times for 31 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 4 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 2 laps; J. Johnson 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 78,48,24,34,2,31,88,37,21,6<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 9,18,11,20,78,1,4,42,12,19<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. \u2013 History will record that Chase Elliott won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race by a whopping 7.560 seconds over reigning champion Martin Truex Jr. That description, however, doesn\u2019t do justice to Elliott\u2019s magnificent drive over the final 32 laps of Sunday\u2019s Go Bowling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":21022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[500,16,472],"class_list":["post-21020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-chase-elliott","tag-nascar","tag-watkins-glen-international"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/WGI_MENCS_Elliott_Celebrate_080518-e1533509040413.jpg?fit=640%2C437","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-5t2","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21020"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21066,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21020\/revisions\/21066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}