DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chase Elliott was already a NASCAR royalty. Now he is also the road king of the sport.
Elliott won the first race track race of the Cup at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, keeping Denny Hamlin hard behind after a late restart and scoring his third consecutive victory away from ovals.
“I had a phenomenal car. I don’t think I did anything special today,” Elliott said.
NASCAR’s most popular driver, the son of Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, also won last year on highways at Charlotte and at Watkins Glen. He got a smarter challenge than many expected in the last road in his last roadie.
The 24-year-old driver had a 10-second lead with 10 laps to go and was pulled away when Kyle Busch blew a tire and broke a caution that gave his teammates Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., a chance gave.
But Elliott stayed ahead at the final restart. Hamlin came to his rear bumper in the final lap but could not do enough to reach significant pressure.
“I kept him there honestly,” Hamlin said. “He had such a good drive off [the corners] I could do nothing with him. “
Hamlin finished second, followed by Truex and seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson.
Elliott, Hamlin and Truex had to hit the cars all afternoon. Truex’s chances took an enormous hit near the end of the second segment. He was quickly caught on the pit road and forced to start the last stanza at the back of the pack. Hamlin also got stuck early behind the slower cars.
Building that kind of ground on a 14-turn, 3.61-mile roadway was an almost impossible task, especially seeing Elliott turn error-free laps at the front of the field.
But that late caution gave both a shot, though an unlikely one given Elliott’s road repertoire.
Another top contender, points leader Kevin Harvick, was turned around when he braked in the “international horse head” and never came back. Harvick some 17th.
Kaz Grala finished seventh in his Cup debut. Grala stepped into the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing after Austin Dillon tested positive for COVID-19. Dillon needs two negative tests 24 hours apart before he is cleared to return.
“This is far beyond my wildest dreams for this event,” Grala said.
Ryan Newman finished 19th on his return to the scene from his most harrowing crash.
Newman delivered a special message to security workers minutes before the race began. Newman spoke on his radio at the control tower, a clip that was later played during the NBC broadcast.
“Hey everyone, just want to say a big thank you,” Newman said. “This is a special day for me. I owe it a lot because of all the things your boys did in February. It enabled me to get back into this race track and do what I love.
“Thank you for your support, not only for me personally, but for all the things you do for all our drivers. It goes a long way, and I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.”
Newman had to be cut from his no. 6 Ford after he wrecked while leading the final round of the Daytona 500 on February 17th.
Newman was one of the few Cup drivers with experience on Daytona’s road. He won an IROC race at the classification in 2004. Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell also had limited experience here.
Neither of them had driven this exact course since NASCAR added a chicane from the Oval’s Turn 4 came, a twister designed to reduce speed that makes its way toward the start-finish line and another potential continuous zone.
The Cup drivers treat, as expected, the harassment better than those in any other series. They handled the race with 65 laps with some caution.
“These drivers are really, really good,” Hamlin said. “They are pros.”
Heat and humidity prove bigger problems. Drivers cautiously called in ice packs and bottles of water. And when the race became red-flagged for lightning nearby, drivers accompanied the nearly 45-minute hiatus.
Johnson got out of his car and immediately unpacked his fireworks, putting out an elaborate cooling system over his T-shirt. McDowell began chewing water. Elliott grabbed a cloth and wiped the sweat away.
All of them advised their carriers to cool off.
JJ Yeley climbed out of his No. 27 a few laps in front of the red flag and crashed on the sidewalk. He was helped on a golf cart and taken to the medical center for evaluation and treatment.
Daniel Suarez had two crew members also left the wells to receive treatment.
“When we get out of the car, it feels like air conditioning,” Truex said, adding that NASCAR should allow teams to create more airflow by removing windows on the right side of roadways.
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