36xRacing

36×36: 2024-2-Atlanta
9-Hendrick:
Driver: Chase Elliott – Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson – Spotter: Trey Poole
Playoff seed entering race:
t-3^rd (+18 to cut) (8 playoff points – 1 stage win, 4^th in standings)

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Of all the stat-related statements you could make about a race weekend, I doubt “involved in the most cautions” would be a top choice for any race team. In Atlanta on Sunday, Chase Elliott shared the honors with Denny Hamlin; both drivers were involved in three of the nine cautions for cause.

Elliott’s weekend started on the wrong foot with a 28^th place qualifying effort, the worst of the Hendrick Motorsports camp. The team changed engine sensors before Sunday’s race (an unapproved adjustment) sending them to the back of the field, a low-cost penalty given the qualifying speed.

Elliott didn’t seem too worried about the situation on FOX’s pre-race show. The team had a focus on handling over qualifying speed, emphasizing race performance over the single-car single-lap run.

The rest of the day was a grind… 

Elliott was fighting “darty” conditions through the first stage with the splitter so close to the track that repair tape was wearing away.

“Just a couple degrees [of steering wheel turn]… jerks it left.”

Patience, steady repairs to the front end, and making corrective adjustments throughout the race set the 9 team up for success. A timely caution towards the end of stage one allowed Elliott to stay out at the stage break and gain track position for the first time all day.

Throughout stage two, Elliott was able to hold his own in the pack and maintain a top 15 running position. With Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, and Joey Logano wrecking from the top ten to end the stage, Elliott earned a single stage point.

“Better than the rest of the day has gone,” said Elliott on the radio.

Chase started the final stage in 3^rd.

While he still couldn’t make moves to the lead, Elliott could now hold his own in traffic and follow lines with momentum… That is, until an untimely push from Ross Chastain on lap 199 sent the 9 car spinning.

Repairs would happen under yellow, then more adjustments to re-recover handling would take place at the next caution after Larson, Keselowski, and LaJoie got together halfway through the final stage.

The 9 car went for its final spin of the day with a dozen laps to go, avoiding the colliding Josh Berry and Carson Hocevar.

In the final five laps, Elliott was able to find his way back up to 15^th, ending a long race for the 9 team…

“I appreciate the fight today, guys,” Elliott told his crew on the radio after the race.

In a race where more than half the field was caught up in a wreck, a top 15 isn’t a bad day. Playoff and championship-tier drivers like Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski are down at 33^rd and 36^th in the standings, respectively. Elliott was able to maintain a top ten position in the standings and sits comfortably (given the two weeks of drafting tracks) in the playoffs by 18 points.

Sunday’s race in Atlanta from the 9 team demonstrates playoff and championship effort (and results), going from, “it’s killed,” on lap 2 to, “our car is in better shape than half the cars in front,” before the final restart. The ability to turn a single digit points day into a 23 point day will be critical when the Cup Series returns to Atlanta in September for the playoff opener.

Any doubts about Chase Elliott (and Alex Bowman) that grew late last season should be muted for now. Hendrick Motorsports is the only team with more than two cars to currently have their entire fleet in the playoffs. Next week the Cup Series heads to Las Vegas where Hendrick swept last year and have won four of the last six races.

36×36: 2024-2-Atlanta
9-Hendrick:
Finish: 15^th (S2: 10^th) – 23pts

Playoff seed leaving race: 7^th (+18 to cut) (6 playoff points – 1 stage win, 6^th in standings)

Next race: 3-Vegas
36×36 featured team: 8-Childress