Top Five At Pocono Builds On Elliott’s Cup Consistency

Chase Elliott in action at Pocono Raceway. (Rusty Jones/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

LONG POND, Pa. – Extra preparation headed into a big test can turn out to be beneficial, and Chase Elliott’s Sunday at Pocono Raceway was a prime example.

Elliott finished fifth in the Great American Getaway 400 to capture his fifth top five of the NASCAR Cup Series season and second in the last two weeks, after being third in Mexico City.

It built on a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ and gave Elliott dual top-five finishes for Hendrick Motorsports.

"We were just really loose in turn three. I felt like I could keep pace pretty well through turns one and two, but I just could not get turn three right all day,” said Elliott, speaking on what kept him from a shot at victory lane. “Certainly as the run went on, it became more challenging for me, and I started making more and more mistakes over there.

“I thought [second place finisher] Denny Hamlin and [third place] Ryan Blaney could do a better job of kind of stalking race leader Chase Briscoe in front of them to get themselves opportunities,” he added. “I was just a little bit too far back and I think it was mainly because of that.”

Although his run toward a win stalled out, the 29-year-old captured his fifth top five at Pocono since 2016 and fourth consecutive finish inside the top 10 since he last won at the 2.5-mile track in 2022.

Despite the end result being somewhat pretty, things over the course of Elliott’s double-duty weekend weren’t perfect. On Saturday, his qualifying session was spoiled due to another car spinning during his official time trial lap, forcing him to start it over and end up 18th.

Before Sunday, Elliott had spoken of wanting to qualify better, to keep his No. 9 team from having to climb their way through the field. That had been a common trend in weeks prior, but he managed to do it again.

Throughout Sunday, he worked methodically during each stage. Using drafts, managing fuel through shifting, and braking allowed him to work closer toward the front. Due to this, Elliott was able to finish eighth in stage one and third in stage two, amassing 11 stage points on the day.

Elliott continued his streak of 17 straight races of not finishing worse than 20th. He has also finished every Next-Gen Pocono race since 2022 inside the top 10.

That consistency is something preached by Elliott of what they must have if he wants to return to collecting checkered flags. Elliott has not won since Texas Motor Speedway in 2024, a career-long span of 44 races.

Part of Sunday’s success could be credited toward Elliott’s strong day on Saturday in the Xfinity Series race. He qualified on pole in the Xfinity car and finished fourth.

That momentum carried into Sunday, where he earned 43 total points, and although he fell back to fifth in the aggregate standings, he sits just two points back of the top three in points. When it comes to the regular season championship, the gap has narrowed to 80 with nine races to go.

With red-hot momentum, Elliott heads home to EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway), where he won in 2022. The Dawnsonville, Ga., native finished eighth last fall in the playoff race there, but hasn’t led a lap since his lone win at the 1.54-mile track three seasons ago.

However, a streak of good results could change that.

“Overall, with everything that happened at Pocono this weekend, I’m just happy to get a fifth-place finish for this No. 9 NAPA Chevy team,” he affirmed, expressing hope that a win may be around the corner soon.

Coverage of the Quaker State 400 from Atlanta begins Saturday night, June 28 at 7 p.m. ET, live on TNT, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.