ELLIOTT WINS COVETED RACE
With the Atlanta crowd cheering his every move, Chase Elliott wanted this win so badly.
He saw Corey LaJoie coming up quickly in the rear-view mirror.
No way Elliott was letting him by.
The Georgia-born driver powered past the upsetminded LaJoie with just under two laps to go and crossed the finish line under yellow after a big block sent LaJoie smashing into the wall Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
It was Elliott’s first NASCAR Cup victory at what he considers his home track after coming up short on his first eight tries.
“I’ve witnessed guys win at their home track, and you could tell it meant a lot to them,” Elliott said. “But until you start competing at the sport’s highest stage, you don’t truly understand what it can mean for you. To have this moment is so special and one I’m grateful for.”
Elliott pulled back around in front of the main grandstand, greeted by a boisterous ovation from fans who cheered loudly every time he went to the front and seemingly stretched all the way to Dawsonville, the north Georgia town that produced the winner and his father, longtime NASCAR Cup star Bill Elliott. “Awesome Bill From Dawsonville” won five times at the historic Atlanta track. Now, his kid has one, too. The Elliotts are the only Georgia-born drivers to win a Cup race in Atlanta. They are the third father-son duo to take the checkered flag at the 1.54-mile trioval, joining the Jarretts (Ned and Dale) and the Earnhardts (Dale and Dale Jr).
Leclerc holds on
Charles Leclerc revived his Formula One title challenge by holding on to win the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg for a third victory of the season, while his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz’s hopes of a secondplace finish ended when his engine blew as he was about to attack Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Leclerc was clearly stressed in the closing laps as his throttle was not working properly, making it more difficult to control his speed into turns.
“Yes. Come on!” Leclerc screamed on team radio after crossing the line. “I was scared. I was really scared. Yessss!”
The Monaco driver held on to beat second-place Verstappen by 1.5 seconds.
Verstappen picked up a bonus point for fastest lap to go with the eight points he took by winning Saturday’s sprint race.
Lewis Hamilton finished third.