Chase Elliott closing in on that first Cup win

But he didn’t go down without a fight before finishing third on Sunday — a career-best for the 20-year-old driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy. 

“Proud of our effort today,” Elliott said. “We really started a good ways out of where we needed to be.  I thought we made a lot of really, really solid gains throughout the day to get our car better and better.”

Elliott started 13th in the AAA 400 Drive for Autism but with adjustments, he moved into the top 10 by the second caution on Lap 120. By Lap 230, following the seventh caution, Elliott had dropped to 12th. Over the next 30 laps, he slowly moved back into the top 10 over two cautions for debris.

After pitting for four tires during an extended caution on Lap 344 — after Chris Buescher spun in Tony Stewart’s oil after the track bar broke on the No. 14, Elliot lined up eight for the Lap 355 restart. What occurred next happened so quickly with his Hendrick teammate, Jimmie Johnson’s, transmission malfunctioning, that Elliott was lost in the moment — but survived unscathed.

“I don't know,” Elliott said when asked about his status during the 18-car pileup. “Somewhere in the middle of it. Somehow luckily got through it. Wasn't anything special I did. Just happened to work out.”

Like race winner Matt Kenseth, Elliott benefitted from a short field. He restarted fifth on Lap 360. As Kyle Larson battled Kenseth, Elliott closed in and caught the leaders. With 19 to go, Elliott caught Larson and ran in second for three laps as Kenseth extended his advantage. 

Closing in on that first win

For a moment — at least three laps — Elliott thought he might have a shot at Kenseth. 

“It was just a matter of getting some clean laps and not having to fend off the 42 I think was the big thing,” Elliott said. “When somebody's on your bumper like that, it's hard to put a real good lap together. When you're racing around people, it just slows everybody down.  When the 42 got into the 20, I was able to catch them, got a run on Kyle. Looking back, wish I had done some different things to open up some clear lanes and run different lines.

“Regardless, I don't think we were quite as good as what the 42 (Larson) was there, and he did a good job of getting back by us, giving Matt a shot.”

On Lap 384, Larson regained second and Elliott finished third — his fourth top-five finish of 2016 and eight top 10. Elliott gained four positions in the standings and is currently seventh. 

Battling Larson

From the cockpit, Elliott thought the racing with Larson was quite the show. The two rising stars have enjoyed a previous battles coming up the ranks.  

“I certainly wouldn't complain if I was battling for wins for the next 10 years,” said the rookie. “It would be great on my watch.  

“I don't know about him, but that's the way I would do it. That would be great. I'd love to be in the mix for wins moving forward.”

Larson, 23, agreed. Although 2016 marks his third season in Cup, Larson has struggled to find speed in the Chip Ganassi Racing Chevys. But Dover, where he tied a career-high second-place finish on Sunday, is statistically one of his best tracks. In five starts, his average finish is 6.2. Still, Larson clearly enjoyed the contest with Elliott.

“It was fun battling Chase there,” Larson said. “I didn't see him much throughout the race. I knew he was lining up behind me there the last restart…Chase got by, was getting big in my mirror quick.

“It was fun racing with him, though.  We've had a lot of good battles through the XFINITY Series and even K&N.  Hopefully we're battling up front for many years to come.  Just looking forward to the future.”

Similar to Larson, Elliott is looking for his first Sprint Cup win. In NASCAR’s other two touring series — Xfinity, where he won the 2014 title and trucks, the second-generation racer won in his sixth start in each tour. 

“Well, I hope I'm close,” said Elliott who has two poles and has led 32 laps this year. Doesn't really matter what I say. Till you go get it done, it really is irrelevant.

“For me, I think I have a team that's capable of doing it. The way I see today, we had our shot, we had a chance to do it today, I didn't do it. It's as simple as that. Either you do or you don't, and we haven't yet.”