DARLINGTON, S.C. - Chase Elliott simply ran out of time and laps on Saturday.
Luckily, he'll have a couple hundred more on Sunday.
Elliott rallied from some early damage and fell just a spot short of his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, finishing second in a final tune up before Sunday's Cup Series main event.
In qualifying earlier in the day, Elliott commented that he chose to run Darlington for reps, citing the track as a tough one for him to get a handle on. After Saturday's race, he said he picked up a couple of things that would hopefully carry over.
"The cars are very different for sure, but I do think there are a couple of small characteristics that hold to be true as the runs go on, late into a run, that you end up struggling with the same thing, kind of," Elliott said. "So, I do think there are a few things you can take from it ... and I think more than anything it was nice to get some reps."
A couple of late cautions and restarts allowed Elliott reach the doorstep of the lead. With 17 laps to go, Elliott lined up third on the inside lane with four cars choosing to stay out. Following eventual-winner Brandon Jones, Elliott took advantage of fresh rubber, getting by the leaders in a hurry. But once Jones and Elliott broke free, it was Jones who was able to take advantage of clean air and slowly pull away.
It was the second straight year Elliott made an Xfinity Series start at Darlington. He finished fourth in the race in 2024.
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"I thought it went really smooth. I was surprised as many guys chose the top lane because that put me and Brandon in a position where we could both choose bottom," Elliott said. "I got to second and I thought we had a really good HendrickCars.com Chevy. Got to where I wanted to, and I was just tight, and I couldn't turn. Finally, it started to turn a little better and I started making some time on him with two or three to go and at that point, I was out of time."
Elliott was presented an opportunity to show the extent of the No. 17 Chevrolet's strength in stage two. After stage one ended, the crew spent some time fixing minor damage on the front of the car and it cost Elliott track position as he fell from 11th to 35th. But it was a minor setback to say the least as Elliott, in less than 45 laps, drove all the way back to the top 10, coming home eighth in the segment.
A solid pit stop got Elliott out sixth for the start of the final stage and he'd advanced to fifth by the time the first of three yellow flags waved in stage three. After a pit stop, Elliott restarted fourth. The No. 17 team would make one, final money stop, pushing Elliott from fourth to second in line amongst cars that pitted with 17 circuits remaining.
The No. 17 car will be back in action at Bristol Motor Speedway next week with Kyle Larson running a triple header (NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series races) for the second time this year. He came up one win short of a weekend sweep at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Sunday's Cup Series main event at Darlington is slated for a 3 p.m. start and will air on FS1.
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Who won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday?
- Brandon Jones, No. 20
- Chase Elliott, No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
- Justin Allgaier, No. 7
- Ross Chastain, No. 9
- Carson Kvapil, No. 1
- Connor Zilisch, No. 88
- Christian Eckes, No. 16
- Nick Sanchez, No. 48
- Sammy Smith, No. 8
- Sheldon Creed, No. 00
- Jesse Love, No. 2
- Ryan Sieg, No. 39
- Harrison Burton, No. 25
- Sam Mayer, No. 41
- Jeb Burton, No. 27
- Austin Hill, No. 21
- Daniel Dye, No. 10
- Dean Thompson, No. 26
- Brennan Poole, No. 44
- Parker Retzlaff, No. 4
- Jeremy Clements, No. 51
- Ryan Ellis, No. 71
- Matt DiBenedetto, No. 99
- Josh Bilicki, No. 91
- Christopher Bell, No. 19
- David Starr, No. 53
- Nick Leitz, No. 07
- Blaine Perkins, No. 31
- Mason Massey, No. 45
- Kyle Sieg, No. 28
- Anthony Alfredo, No. 42
- Garrett Smithley, No. 14
- Taylor Gray, No. 54
- Greg van Alst, No. 35
- William Sawalich, No. 18
- Josh Williams, No. 11
- Leland Honeyman, No. 70
- Kris Wright, No. 5