DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.— The Dawsonville Pool Room will not be sounding the siren after the 59th running of the Daytona 500. Chase Elliott was just three laps from scoring his first career victory before running out of fuel.
“It was a disappointing finish to a good day. Just one of those things you can’t do anything about. I’m happy with how the NAPA team performed, and we are going to learn from it. I’m proud of how hard everyone worked all week. We’re looking forward to getting back at it in Atlanta.”
With 25 laps to go, Elliott was leading a single file line around the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. As the run went on, crew chiefs were telling drivers to conserve fuel as they were a lap to a half lap short. Many drivers were telling spotters that as the laps wound down, Elliott was slowing down the pace. As the leader, Elliott was using a little bit more fuel than everyone.
Elliott is no stranger to being close to victory. Elliott’s frustration culminates from numerous races in 2016 of being close. Despite the loss, Elliott is excited to head to his home track, Atlanta Motor Speedway.
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