LONG POND, Pa. -- For the first time in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, rookie Chase Elliott went to battle for the win at the “Tricky Triangle” during Monday’s race at Pocono Raceway.
And the 20-year-old was within reach of Victory Lane with the help of the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS team before taking the checkered flag in fourth – part of three top-six finishes for the organization.
“Just definitely really proud of our team and the work that everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has put in,” Elliott said. “I felt like we had four really fast cars today. I hope that's a good sign for races to come. We certainly had I feel like one of our best days of the year personally.”
During the 400-mile race, Elliott logged a race-high 51 laps as the leader through various cautions on the track. With 50 laps remaining in the race, Elliott continued to battle for the lead as another caution set him back in the field, although still within the top 10. After a solid restart with 38 laps to go, Elliott found his way up to third behind teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Once Earnhardt took over control of the lead, Elliott, then in the runner-up position, went head-to-head with his teammate in an attempt to regain the lead.
“The lead is the best place to be,” he explained. “If you can clear those guys before you get to Turn 1, you kind of have whatever lane you want and you hope that the guys behind you are still two wide, and if that's the case they just don't have the air they need to run as fast of a corner. It’s just a big aero advantage to be out front.”
Although he feels he could have made a better decision after his final restart of the race, Elliott remains positive about the No. 24 team’s effort at Pocono.
“Obviously I made a big mistake there behind Dale in the tunnel after that restart,” Elliott said. “I wish I had been a little more patient and given ourselves a better chance, but you live and you learn. I thought for us to be able to contend and lead laps all day and have a car that could fight for the lead the majority of the day I thought was great.”