CONCORD, N.C. – Chase Elliott will compete in Saturday night’s All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The driver of the No. 24 Mountain Dew Chevrolet SS was named the winner of the fan vote for the second consecutive year, putting him in line to compete for the $1,000,000 purse.
"I certainly appreciate everyone's vote," Elliott said after FOX Sports analyst Jeff Gordon informed him over the radio. "That means a lot to me."
Prior to the announcement of the fan vote winner, Elliott competed in the three stages of The Open in an attempt to race his way into the All-Star Race.
Starting The Open in third, Elliott got caught in the middle of four-wide racing on the restart, falling back to seventh. But by Lap 3 he was inside the top five, and with three laps remaining in Stage 1 he was back up to fourth.
On pit road before Stage 2, quick work by the No. 24 team allowed Elliott to return to the track in second. He maintained that position on the restart and held it for all 20 laps to finish Stage 2 as the runner-up.
For the final, 10-lap stage, Elliott lined up third with four fresh tires as a competitor ahead of him elected to take just two tires on pit road. A caution flag flew on the restart as a competitor nudged the No. 24 Chevy from behind into the car ahead of him.
For the restart following the caution, Elliott once again lined up third. He moved up to second and began to track down the leader. With four laps to go he edged ahead of the leader before a three-wide race for the lead commenced. In the battle, the third-place competitor spun out after driving into the grass, bringing out another caution.
When the race went green once again for the final three laps, Elliott restarted second, and on the final lap he fell to third before the checkered flag waved.
"We'd love to race our way in and what not," Elliott said, thanking the fans for voting him into the All-Star Race. "That was a wild one, for sure."