DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The final 10 laps at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday were filled with cautions and red flags caused by multiple-car incidents.
The No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was among the cars involved, but Chase Elliott was able to remain on the track through all of them – until the last one.
With two laps to go, Elliott couldn’t avoid the incident in front of him and it ultimately spelled the end of the No. 9 team’s Daytona 500.
“I had a huge run, I just didn’t have anywhere to go with it,” the driver recalled. “We crashed I think four or five times, finally finished us off. It’s crazy what these things come down to and just survival. It’s crazy.”
Elliott wasn’t able to return to the track for the overtime restart, and in the end, he was scored 17th.
One aspect that stuck out to the driver about the Daytona 500 was the success of the inside lane, which he was able to utilize at times throughout the race to advance inside the top 10 before the incidents derailed his day.
“The bottom was a faster way around and I think once the power in numbers got down there it certainly showed that,” Elliott said. “I wish we could have just made it to the end.”
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