CONCORD, N.C. – Sunday’s celebration at the Charlotte Motor Speedway “roval” was one to remember for Chase Elliott and the No. 9 team.
But it almost didn’t happen because of a critical mistake as the final segment of the race got underway.
After winning Stage 2, Elliott was still up front for a restart on Lap 65. But he mistimed the braking point entering Turn 1, ultimately missing the turn entirely and running into the tire barrier.
“I knew long before I hit it that I was going to hit it, so I was just thinking about reverse and getting out of there and finding a hole to crawl in as fast as possible because that was pretty dumb,” Elliott said of seeing the tire barrier ahead of him. “Definitely at the time I thought we were done, for sure.”
But as soon as Elliott backed up and got moving again under caution, he felt better about the situation through a unique source – the giant TV screens at the track.
Checking out his car on the screen as he drove toward pit road, he saw that the damage appeared to be confined to the hood.
“Fortunately, it really wasn’t much,” No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson said. “As long as the splitter was intact and in good condition, no tire rubs, we were going to be in decent shape. That was the case. We got lucky on that.”
After quick work by the No. 9 team on pit road, Elliott returned to the track in 37th with plenty of work ahead of him.
Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick acknowledged even he thought the win might be out of reach for Elliott at that point.
“If he came back to the top 10, that would be great,” Hendrick recalled thinking. “I thought (the car) was hurt when it went into that barrier. But he came out and the lap times were good, and then we got a couple of cautions that helped us, and he got back up to the front. The car was really good, and he made some unbelievable moves, so I'm just really proud.”
Elliott drove the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the top five with 21 laps to go, advancing to third for a restart with six laps remaining.
When the green flag dropped, he raced his way back into he lead and held it through the checkered flag to capture the comeback win.
Of course, the mistake earlier in the race was still on his mind even after the victory, which led to a celebratory burnout back against the tire barrier he had hit.
“Chase, he doesn't give himself enough credit,” Hendrick said. “I mean, he told me after the race he kind of made a big mistake. Man, you drove the wheels off the car and you won. You came back.”
The victory was still sinking in for the driver of the No. 9 Chevy, who advanced to the Round of 12 in the playoffs with the win.
“To overcome the adversity we did today, if there's ever a don't quit story, I feel like today should be at the top of the list for us,” Elliott said. “Because to fight back from that, I'm as wowed as anybody."