Elliott Parlays Quiet Coke 600 Into Solid Sixth At Charlotte

Chase Elliott in action at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Declan Wayman photo)

CONCORD, N.C. – Staying out of trouble and going about one’s business isn’t a bad option when tackling an endurance-focused task, especially when a driver isn’t necessarily on their A-game.

On Sunday night in the 66th running of the Coca-Cola 600, Chase Elliott did just that and ended up being rewarded for it.

Elliott finished sixth in his 10th Memorial Day crown jewel race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, raising his NASCAR Cup Series season total of top 10s to seven during a race where he was almost nondescript in his consistency.

He led two laps during the final stage, but averaged a 10th-place running position and spent 372 of 400 laps inside the top 15 despite starting 22nd on the grid.

Additionally, Sunday marked the 29-year-old’s first top 10 since a fifth-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April, nearly a month ago.

“We had a really good No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet. Our guys on pit road were amazing all night,” said Elliott. “We gained spots on pit road all day, but I would give them right back on the next restart. I just needed to be better.”

Elliott admitted that recently the No. 9 team has struggled to reach their full potential as a collective group. His team, including himself, has lacked that “it” factor to win races, unlike his Hendrick Motorsports teammates of Kyle Larson and William Byron – who have four wins total between them.

On the flip side of that coin, Elliott and his third running mate Alex Bowman remain winless through 13 regular season races. They still have plenty of time to rectify that statistic, though.

“We know that there's more in the tank and that we can extract more out of our team and race results to lead more laps and get ourselves in good position,” said Elliott recently after the Cup Series stop at Texas Motor Speedway. “We’ve had a couple opportunities at wins and stage wins this year, but certainly not the amount of opportunities that I think we need to have, or that we should have, or that we should give ourselves.”

However, stacking good results, and stringing together consistency is something that can go a long way.

Entering the weekend, speed for the Dawnsonville, Ga., native was scarce, as he was 12th in practice. Later Saturday in qualifying, he slipped back to 22nd and that’s where he started Sunday’s marathon.

From there the challenge was to perform after a lack-luster qualifying effort.

The No. 9 pit crew kept it clean, and even with what could be seen as close calls while racing amongst the pack for 600 miles, Elliott managed to peak at the right time and collect 37 total points. That was good for sixth best overall in Sunday’s 40-car field.

He entered the weekend and still remains fourth in points. However, he now only sits 10 points behind Christopher Bell for third in the standings.

Elliott collected his second straight Coca-Cola 600 finish of seventh or better in consecutive seasons, and the sixth top 10 finish of his career in NASCAR’s longest race. In Sunday’s stages, he crossed the line ninth, tenth and eighth in the first three 100-lap segments.

Looking ahead, Elliott will continue his battle toward a return to victory lane, as the Cup Series heads to the Music City market for a June visit to Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

Elliott, who’s now in his 10th full-time Cup Series season, won at Nashville in 2022, and since then has one top five in his last two starts. He also has 56 laps led in four years on the 1.333-mile concrete oval.

When asked about his confidence entering Nashville, Elliott expressed optimism but said he must improve on his restarts.

“We were making really good pace right there in the end,” he noted. “I just gave up too much on the restarts.”

Coverage of the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville begins Sunday night, June 1 at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.