Elliott was taken out on the first lap in the first turn of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix after Ross Chastain sent the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet spinning in heavy traffic.
But over the remaining 94 laps, the Alan Gustafson-led crew worked on the car and assisted Elliott as he scored his fourth top-five result in five starts at the 2.4-mile track.
“Yeah, it was just a crazy day, really,” Elliott said. “I got run over, I felt like, there in the first corner. I’m curious to see it. I still haven’t seen it to know whether or not I did something wrong. I’m happy to own it, if I did.
“I just felt like it was the first corner of the first lap, and it’s just a bummer to get behind and then we had damage. Alan and the guys did a great job fixing it and getting it that close. We got behind on a restart there and just had to play major catchup there.”
Because the vast majority of the field pitted near the end of Stage 1, Elliott claimed fifth place in the stage by staying out until the conclusion. But he restarted 36th after pitting during the break.. Twenty laps later, Elliott was 27th. With many of the leaders again pitting ahead of him, he was able to gain ground in the five laps remaining in the second stage.
By the end of Stage 2, the No. 9 Chevrolet had returned to the top 15. Following pit stops during the caution, Elliott fell to 27th again for the final 46-lap battle.
Two competition-related cautions in the third stage enabled Elliott to gain ground. Kyle Busch had taken the lead but had challenges from Christopher Bell, William Byron and Shane VanGisbergen. Busch regained the lead after green flag pit stops. The fourth and final caution, with Denny Hamlin taking out Austin Dillon, set up a battle for the win with 13 laps remaining.
Elliott was running 13th when the final yellow flew. Gustafson elected to pit for fresh tires on Lap 80, and that provided the driver with the edge he needed.
“Alan made a great call there at the end to put tires on it,” Elliott said. “We were rolling up through there really good at the end.
“Obviously, when you have a good car like that, I would have liked to have been in the fight with those guys,” Elliott said. “But it was a great recovery from where we were at during the end of the second stage.”
Although Elliott restarted 23rd with nine laps remaining in the race, new tires paid off. Busch was on the oldest tires, followed by Bell, Byron and Reddick. Busch gave his all but was no match for Bell over the final run. Bell traded paint with Busch, grabbed the lead with five to go, and held the point to the finish.
As Busch continued to fade, Elliott passed the No. 8 Chevrolet for a fourth-place finish.
“That was huge for us,” Elliott said. “And I had a few things go my way on the restart with guys kind of getting bottled up in different ways. That was total luck. I hate we have to recover. That sucks. But hopefully, we can put together a clean week here before to long.
“I feel like we have been fast. We’ve just been kind of getting behind the 8 ball.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at [email protected].
