Chase Elliott extends career-best record for no DNFs after 9th-place finish in Pocono 

After Sunday's race at Pocono Raceway, Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. remain the only drivers to have not suffered a DNF so far in the current Cup Series season. Furthermore, Elliott tops the list of most consecutive races without a DNF, thus making it the longest that the Hendrick Motorsports driver has ever gone without a DNF in his NASCAR Cup Series career.

Chase Elliott currently drives the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. In only his fifth season with the team, the Dawsonville native won his first Cup Series championship in 2020. His most recent win came at the Texas Motor Speedway in April 2024, snapping a 42-race winless streak. Elliott's victory at Texas was also the 306th win for his team.

Chase Elliott is the 2014 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, which also makes him the first rookie ever to have bagged a national-level championship. He was also voted the 'Most Popular Driver' in the Cup Series from 2018 to 2021, a title that his father, Bill Elliott, won 16 times.

According to Trey Ryan, a popular statistician on X (formerly Twitter), Elliott has finished his last 34 races without a DNF. Reflecting on the same, Ryan posted:

"Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr are the only remaining drivers in the 2024 season without a DNF. Also, this is the longest Chase Elliott has EVER gone without a DNF in his Cup Series career.

Chase Elliott currently sits at the top of the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 703 points, with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kyle Larson, just 3 points behind him in P2. With 5 races to go till NASCAR kicks off the postseason, Elliott holds the 5th playoff berth. His next race is on July 21 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Chase Elliott's views on Bubba Wallace's $50,000 fine after Chicago incident with Alex Bowman

Chase Elliott's teammate Alex Bowman won the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago road course a little over a week ago. But his victory in the rain-shortened race did not come without a little post-race retaliation from 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace.

Alex Bowman spun Wallace on lap 25, which caused the latter to lose position and involve Trackhouse Racing driver, Daniel Suarez, who was then forced to bring his car to a halt. Furthermore, both Bowman and Wallace were fighting for that last playoff spot.

Unfortunately for Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman won the race and punched his playoff pass, while Bubba Wallace was relegated 45 points behind the cutline.

Frustrated at his P13 finish, Wallace pulled up next to Bowman's #48 machine during the cooldown lap and door-slammed him. NASCAR penalized Bubba Wallace by handing him a $50,000 fine. However, Elliott thought it shouldn't have been such a big deal.

Speaking of which, in an earlier interview with Frontstretch, Elliott said, (0:36)

"I don't really think he should have been fined. I understand but man, you're getting in the weeds with some of that stuff and nobody was hurt...it was unfortunate I guess... just the circumstances and Alex (Bowman) having won the race and things of that nature but... I didn't see it to be a huge deal."

Although Bowman later apologized to Bubba Wallace, the latter did not point fingers at anyone. Rather, he said that the penalty was the best thing to have happened to him.