Chase Elliott Finally Masters the Road Course at Road America and Gets the Victory

ELKHART LAKE, WI – RIS - Leave it to the road racing expert.  Chase Elliott recorded his sixth win in the last eight NASCAR Cup- road races and his seventh in the last 11. The reigning Cup champion took the lead from Kyle Busch on Lap 46 of 62, then pulled away over the final 16 laps to claim a 5.7-second victory over Christopher Bell.

Elliott, who qualified 34th earlier on Sunday after two stoppages during the session kept him from posting a fast lap. Elliot’s complaints that he couldn’t get a grip on the 4-mile oval, learned much more during the race.

“I just never felt like I got in a good rhythm (in practice) all of yesterday, so for whatever reason there, after about halfway through the race, I started finding some of that rhythm,” Elliott said.  “I was able to put it together, pieced every part of the track, and then finally, I feel like I was able to piece most of it together. I just stayed with it and I’m glad it worked out.”

Kyle Busch followed his Xfinity Series win on Saturday with a third-place finish on Sunday. His older brother, Kurt Busch, finished fourth to maintain his grip on the 16th and final Cup playoff spot with six regular season races to go.  Denny Hamlin, still searching for his first win of the season, finished fifth.

This year’s big winner, Kyle Larson, who entered Sunday having finished inside the top two in seven of the previous eight races, looked poised to claim at least a top five in the final laps, but with six laps to go, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Alex Bowman, got in too deep at Turn 5 and turned him around. Bowman promptly reported that his brakes had gone out.

Larson ended up finishing 16th, while Bowman placed 22nd. Afterwards, Bowman sought Larson out on pit road to explain what happened.

Elliott, Busch and a handful of others who started deep in the field took advantage of an alternate pit strategy, diving in on the 11th lap anticipating a caution that came a lap later while some teams waited for the stage break.

Three yellows and half the race later, nearly everyone was back on the same strategy. A flat tire on Anthony Alfredo’s car sent him off in the Carousel on the 43rd lap, giving everyone the opportunity to pit and, if they were light on the gas pedal, make it to the finish without pitting again.

Ryan Blaney stayed out, having been in for service when Alfredo brought out the caution but  Busch took the lead from in Turn 3, and then Elliott passed Busch going into the Kink.

The last time the NASCAR Cup cars ran here, Elliott wasn’t even born. That was 65 years ago.  The Xfinity cars had raced here, but never in Cup cars.  That was in 1956.

After celebrating with a spectacular burnout on the narrow front stretch at the start/finish line, Elliott drove to the wide-open runoff area in Turn 5 where he was supposed to have gone. After his television interview, fans there goaded him into another one, and he needed a push — and a tire change — to get to victory lane.

"Thank you for spending your Fourth of July with us," he said. "I hope you enjoyed the show."

Unofficial Results for the Inaugural Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip, July 4, Road America, 4.048 - Mile Road

Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status

1) 34, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 62, 10, 2, 24, 5, , 41, Running

2) 13, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Sirius XM Toyota, 62, 7, , , , , 39, Running

3) 40, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Skittles Red White & Blue Toyota, 62, , 2, 4, , 10, 35, Running

4) 16, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet, 62, 9, , , , 5, 41, Running

5) 6, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, 62, 6, , , , , 37, Running

6) 35, Chase Briscoe #, No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School/HighPoint.com , 62, , , , , , 31, Running

7) 8, Ross Chastain, No. 42 AdventHealth Chevrolet, 62, 5, , , , 3, 44, Running

8) 4, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Kalahari Resorts + Conventions Chevrolet, 62, 4, 1, 5, 1, 1, 46, Running

9) 9, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Toyota, 62, , 1, 1, , , 28, Running

10) 7, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford, 62, , 2, 10, , , 27, Running

11) 37, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet, 62, , , , , , 26, Running

12) 38, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/BallPark Buns & Rolls Chevrolet, 62, , , , , , 25, Running

13) 20, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Snap on Ford, 62, , , , , , 24, Running

14) 19, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield/Pit Boss Grills Ford, 62, , 1, 1, , , 23, Running

15) 14, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 62, , , , , 6, 27, Running

16) 2, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 62, 3, , , , 4, 36, Running

17) 15, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 62, , , , , , 20, Running

18) 12, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 62, , , , , , 19, Running

19) 21, Erik Jones, No. 43 SCAG Power Equipment Chevrolet, 62, , , , , , 18, Running

20) 17, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 BodyArmor Ford, 62, , , , , , 17, Running

21) 23, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Diamond Creek Water Chevrolet, 62, , , , , , 16, Running

22) 10, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 62, 8, , , , , 18, Running

23) 27, Josh Bilicki, No. 52 Screamin Sicilian Pizza Co Ford, 62, , , , , , 14, Running

24) 36, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Dr. Pepper Toyota, 62, , , , , 8, 16, Running

25) 22, Justin Haley(i), No. 77 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet, 62, , , , , 9, 0, Running

26) 39, * Ty Dillon(i), No. 96 Lure Lock/Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 62, , , , , , 0, Running

27) 25, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford, 62, , , , , 7, 14, Running

28) 26, James Davison, No. 15 Skip Barber Racing School Chevrolet, 62, , , , , , 9, Running

29) 3, * AJ Allmendinger(i), No. 16 Hyperice Chevrolet, 62, 2, , , , , 0, Running

30) 18, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 62, , , , , , 7, Running

31) 29, Cody Ware(i), No. 51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet, 62, , , , , , 0, Running

32) 28, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford, 62, , , , , , 5, Running

33) 1, William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 62, 1, 1, 15, 1, 2, 23, Running

34) 33, Quin Houff, No. 00 8 Ball Chocolate Whiskey Chevrolet, 62, , , , , , 3, Running

35) 30, Kyle Tilley, No. 78 Bremont/Battle Associates Ford, 60, , , , , , 2, Running

36) 11, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Good Sam-Patriotic Chevrolet, 53, , , , , , 1, Running

37) 24, Anthony Alfredo #, No. 38 Speedy Cash Ford, 42, , , , , , 1, Brakes

38) 5, * Austin Cindric(i), No. 33 Pirtek Ford, 35, , 1, 2, , , 0, Rear Gear

39) 31, Ryan Eversley, No. 53 Nurtec ODT Ford, 27, , , , , , 1, Rear Gear

40) 32, * Ryan Preece, No. 37 Maxwell House/Kroger Chevrolet, 6, , , , , , 1, Engine

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time: 2 Hrs, 54 Mins, 33 Secs.

Length: 62 Laps, 250.976 Miles

Average Speed: 86.271 MPH

Margin of Victory: 5.705 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 24, 16, 5, 8, 42, 11, 20, 48, 1, 9

Stage 2 Top 10: 8, 24, 42, 5, 1, 22, 4, 23, 77, 18

Comments: Chase Elliott has won the Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip at Road America, his 13th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty: Nos. 18, 37 (backup car), No. 77 (engine change), No. 23 (transmission change), Nos. 78, 52, 00 (unapproved adjustments).

Caution Flags: 4 for 9 laps;

Laps: 4-4 (No. 99 Stopped On Track [None]);

13-16 (No. 78 Stopped On Track / Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);

31-32 (Stage 2 Conclusion [51]);

44-45 (No. 38 Stopped On Track [00]).

Lead Changes: 10 among 8 drivers;

W. Byron 1-15;

M. Truex Jr. 16;

A. Cindric(i) 17-18;

M. DiBenedetto 19-23;

K. Busch 24-26;

T. Reddick 27-31;

K. Busch 32;

M. DiBenedetto 33-37;

C. Elliott 38-44;

A. Almirola 45;

C. Elliott 46-62.

Busch Pole Award:  William Byron, No. 24 110.359 mph

Sunoco Rookie of the Race:  Chase Briscoe, No. 14