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Chase Elliott contributed to Hendrick Motorsports' 1-2-3 sweep at Martinsville Speedway, while William Byron took the milestone victory for the team. However, Elliott's race wasn't without its challenges, as he was involved in an early collision with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
After Kyle Larson won the first stage of the race, all drivers headed into the pit lane. Elliott's pit stall was located three stalls behind Stenhouse's pit stall. After the #9 HMS Chevy crew had finished servicing Elliott's car, he darted out of his pit stall only to spin out the #47 JTG Daugherty Chevy driver, who was entering his pit stall.
The tap from Chase Elliott sent Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spinning into his pit stall while his crew members were positioning themselves to service the car. The #47 Chevy narrowly avoided sandwiching the fueler between the pit wall. Had Stenhouse Jr. been carrying more speed, it could have resulted in potential injury to his pit crew.
Watch the incident unfold from the perspective of spectators in the grandstands:
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. found himself facing the wrong way in the pits, leaving his #47 JTG Daugherty pit crew to service the car while it was stranded. Adding to the woes, Stenhouse Jr. was penalized for speeding in the pit lane, relegating him to the rear of the pack.
The #47 Chevy driver couldn't make progress thereafter and was classified 29th, two laps down on the leader at the end of the 400-lap race. Chase Elliott, on the other hand, had a shot at victory in the final overtime restart but ultimately crossed the finish line in third place.
Chase Elliott "hungry for more" after recent top-five results
The #9 Hendrick Motorsports driver had an unimpressive start to his campaign, failing to score a top-10 finish in the first four races of the season. However, he has bounced back to claim two top-five finishes in the last two races.
Following a fifth-place finish at Richmond Raceway, Chase Elliott was in contention to win the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. He ran up front for the majority of the race, finishing third and fourth in the first two stages respectively, while leading 64 laps.
The 2020 Cup Series champion is hungry for more after recent success, and is aiming to snap his winless streak. He said post-race (via motorsport.com):
"Nice to have a couple solid weeks, to be in contention there for a win. Haven’t been in contention to win one in a while. It was fun to kind of get to that last restart and it actually mattered. Enjoyed that aspect. Certainly hungry for more.
"I feel like throughout a lot of the season this year, we’ve been working in a good direction, working really good together. Pit stops have been really good. Alan [Gustafson, crew chief] has been calling really good races."
Eight races into the season, Chase Elliott currently sits sixth in the drivers' standings.
