Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 24 3M Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports finished 20th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway Sunday afternoon.
Elliott rolled off the grid in the top 10 and he maintained that position through the first caution period. However, by Lap 30 he had fallen just outside of the top 10. The next 60 laps of green-flag racing saw several cars go a lap down including Elliott who had dropped to 19th after fighting a loose-handling condition. As the caution flag flew on Lap 91 the rookie driver found himself just one spot away from a free pass at the time.
The 20-year-old continued battling in and out of the top 20 for the remainder of the first half of the race, and was racing in 21st at the halfway point. Elliott maintained his position up until the caution period on Lap 457 where he incurred a speeding penalty exiting pit road. That put him back in 23rd. He continued battling the remainder of the race working towards the lucky dog, but fell just one spot shy on the final caution of the day. Elliott persevered in the final sprint to the checkered, but ultimately finished 20th.
“We’ll keep working on it – P20 bud,” crew chief Gustafson told Elliott over the radio as the checkered flag ended the race. “Good job today.”
Elliott’s teammate, Jimmie Johnson, led the four-car Hendrick Motorsports contingent to the checkered flag finishing ninth. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 14th and Kasey Kahne took home a 22nd-place result.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule will be at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, April 9th. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. ET with live coverage provided by FOX.
Hendrick Motorsports PR
