Elliott earns ‘huge’ Cup win
Watkins Glen repeat ends season drought
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Chase Elliott put an emphatic end to his summerlong struggle, making a statement with a dominating win on the road course at Watkins Glen International.
A year after racing to his first career NASCAR Cup victory at The Glen, Elliott won a second time for Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday, besting Martin Truex Jr. just as he did a year ago. Elliott, who started from the pole, led 80 of 90 laps around the speedy 2.45-mile layout to become the first repeat winner in nearly a decade, since Marcos Ambrose in 2011-12.
“I think it’s huge,” Elliott said of his victory in the Go Bowling at The Glen. “We’ve had fast cars at times, but one thing or another ended up for a bad weekend. The way we did it was the biggest thing. That’s the kind of effort you have to put on often to compete with the guys in the field.”
Elliott had already qualified for the postseason with his win at Talladega in May, but after four straight topfives he hadn’t had a top-10 finish in the No. 9 Chevrolet since June at Pocono, a span of seven races. He also led 400 laps in the opening 13 races but had led only nine laps until Sunday.
It was a two-car race for more than half the 220.5-mile distance and the entire final 40 laps.
Truex began to exert some pressure after sitting behind Elliott for more than 10 laps in the final segment. Elliott held his ground until Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota closed with six laps to go, waiting to pounce on a mistake that never came.
With two laps left, Truex still couldn’t get close enough to make a move as Elliott drove flawlessly, winning by 0.454 seconds.
Denny Hamlin was third, Erik Jones fourth for Gibbs and Ryan Blaney fifth in his No. 22 Penske Racing Ford after starting from the rear of the field.