MARTINSVILLE, Va.: Chase Elliott had one of the fastest cars on the track in the closing laps of Sunday’s NOCO 400 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and he used that speed to his advantage.
Over the final 20 laps of the race, Elliott picked up nearly half a dozen positions that allowed him to climb into the top-10 and earn a 10th place finish in his first Cup Series race since suffering a leg injury in a snowboarding accident in early March in Colorado.
It has been nearly six weeks since Elliott had drove his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, but throughout Sunday’s race, Elliott steadily worked back into a competitive rhythm while also taking advantage of some track position to set himself up for his second top-10 finish of the year.
Elliott struggled in the opening two stages and was mired in heavy traffic, but towards the end of the first of two trips to the famed Martinsville paperclip, Elliott had the car rotating to his liking and allowed him to collect his 139th career Cup top-10 finish.
After the race, Elliott could be seen sitting down next to his race car, resting after what Elliott described as a exhausting warm day inside his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.
NASCAR’s most popular driver insisted his race went as he expected it would.
“Yeah, it was pretty good, honestly,” offered Elliott after the race. “It was about what I expected, so that’s a good thing. It was warm. I’ve been sitting on the couch for six weeks, so I think that probably hurt me more than anything. But our NAPA Chevy, we struggled every run but the last one.
“We finally got it going there at the end and I was able to make some passes and do things that I didn’t really think I’d be capable of doing, or at least of us fixing it to that degree here at the race track. So, I was pleasantly surprised by that. Got us a top-10 out of our first day back, so that’s definitely something to not be too bummed about.”
Spending his recovery period and physical therapy isolated in Colorado, Elliott said missed being at the track was glad to be back in a competitive nature surrounded by his peers and teammates.
“The people, really,” said Elliott of what he missed the most. “From my peers, to my teammates – that competitive nature of being here and wanting to be better. Really nice to be back and appreciate the warm welcome this weekend by everybody, so I appreciate that. It definitely didn’t go unnoticed.”
With his finish on Sunday, Elliott moved to 31st in the championship standings heading to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 23 where he is expected to be a favorite to win the GEICO 500.
Elliott needs to a win race by late August to have an opportunity to compete in this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs or maneuverer himself inside the top-16 in the championship standings. Leaving Martinsville, he trails Chris Buescher by 130 points for the final Playoff spot.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email at: [email protected]
