WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) Chase Elliott won the NASCAR Cup race at
Watkins Glen, holding off Martin Truex Jr in a scintillating finish.
It was Elliott’s first career win, in his 99th Cup start, and 250th
for Hendrick Motorsports. It also assured Elliott a spot in the
playoffs as he became only the fifth driver to win a race outside
of the Big 3 of Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Truex, who have
combined to win 16 of 22 races.
Truex ran second to Elliott for most of the final stage before
beginning a steady close. It was a two-car race as the rest of the
field was more than 11 seconds back.
Truex closed to the back bumper of Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy as his car
moved wide heading out of the first turn of the final lap, but
Elliott regrouped and pulled away as Truex sputtered home second,
out of fuel.
Kyle Busch finished third, 20 seconds behind, followed by Daniel
Suarez and Erik Jones, a triumvirate of Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas.
Truex was bidding to become the first Cup driver to win three
straight road races since Tony Stewart accomplished the feat just
over a decade ago (2004-05). Jeff Gordon hold the record with six
in a row (1997-2000).
It promised to turn into a fuel mileage race as the laps wound
down, and nobody has been better with the strategy than Truex and
crew chief Cole Pearn. All three of Truex’s road course wins were
won with strategy, including last year at The Glen.
Elliott led Truex by 1.1 seconds with 19 laps left, Jones was third
over 10 seconds behind and Busch 18 seconds back in eighth in what
turned into a two-car struggle.
With both cars turning up dirt while bulling through the chicane,
Truex was a few car lengths behind with just over 10 laps to go.
With his famous father, Hall of Famer Bill Elliott spotting from
above, Chase maintained his slim advantage as Truex tried to find a
way by.
Lapped traffic allowed Truex to get close – it was down to one car
length with under three laps to go – but he never found the magic
he needed as Elliott drove a flawless race. When Truex bobbled in
the chicane on the final lap, Elliott was home free.
Elliott won the race’s second stage and brought the sellout crowd
to its feet with a pass of Busch. Elliott pulled out to a
half-second lead while Truex was fighting to get back to the front
after restarting 12th.
Midway through the segment, the Big 3 of Busch, Truex and Kevin
Harvick were running in the top 10, but Elliott dominated and beat
Busch by 1.3 seconds.
Busch’s day was ruined when Matt DiBenedetto brought out a caution
just past the midpoint of the race. The fuel probe malfunctioned on
the ensuing pit stop and the crew only got a few gallons into the
No. 18 Toyota. That forced him to pit again, dropping him out of
contention after dominating the opening segment.
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