FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Chase Elliott raced down the straight after an emotional win that could put the 2020 Cup champions back on the right track.
It was a huge relief for the 28-year-old driver, part of a championship-winning NASCAR team, and a tribute to Alan Kulwicki, an old-school driver much like Elliott’s father more than 30 years ago. After 18 months and 42 races without a win, the younger Elliott won in double overtime at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, a track-record 16th caution after already taking the white flag as the leader. I received the ball and crossed the goal line. He then did a reverse victory lap, imitating Kulwicki’s signature celebration. “It was a dream of mine to honor the late Alan Kulwicki,” Elliott said. “It was very emotional for me. He beat his father at the time.”
Elliott drove Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 9 Chevrolet to victory in orange livery in two of the three races scheduled this season, with Hooters as the primary sponsor. This is the restaurant chain that appeared in the car during owner-driver Kulwicki’s final two years of racing, including the 1992 Cup title, where he finished one lap ahead of that season’s series winner. I earned bonus points only for finishing early. Bill Elliott led the finale. “As soon as the race was over, I thought, finally, I had a chance to race, and I had a chance to honor him and that partnership,” Elliott said. “When his championship run came full circle and he passed my dad, they are now my partners. We ended the drought. It’s really special in many ways. If you look at it this way, it’s pretty fitting. ”
Kulwicki earned his last race victory at Pocono on June 14, 1992, but died in a plane crash the following April at the age of 38. It was Texas’ fifth win of the season and 306th win for Rick Hendricks’ team. A week earlier, Elliott celebrated the 40th anniversary of his first win with a one-two finish at Martinsville, where he finished behind William Byron and Kyle Larson. Elliott has been named NASCAR’s most popular driver for the past six years despite missing a win, missing six races and receiving a one-race suspension last season due to a snowboarding accident. He finished 17th, his only time outside the top 10 and without a playoff berth since becoming a full-time Cup driver in 2016, but still posted 15 top-10 finishes. was. It was his first win since Talladega in October 2022, and his third consecutive top-5 finish this season. “I don’t think you can go out on the track and just struggle and not run well. We ran well,” said crew chief Alan Gustafson. “My average running position for the year is 4th, which is a pretty elite position. I feel like I can get back to winning as consistently as I want and like everything else, I think I’m 90% of the way there. But it’s very difficult to get his last 10% up to his recent 24% level. …I just need a little more. We don’t feel like we’ve failed, so to speak. ”
The No. 24 car is Byron, which led with six wins last year, including Hendricks’ 300th win at Texas last September, and has won three Cup races this season, the most in a Cup race. Those were 15 of the 15 games the team won during Elliott’s win, with the remaining six going to Larson, the 2021 Cup champion. Now, Elliott is finally back in Victory Lane for the 19th time in his Cup career. “It’s nice to feel like you’re being helped,” Elliott said. “From a team standpoint and from a 40th year standpoint for Rick, I just appreciate that he stuck with me and continued to believe in me and let me know that. I’ll pull it off. I am grateful. I am happy to be able to contribute and to contribute to the company as a whole as a team. It’ll be more fun that way. ”
