Ally 400: Chase Elliott caps off long night with win in Nashville

By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports activities NASCAR Author

LEBANON, Tenn. — Chase Elliott has had a irritating final couple of months, so he was greater than prepared to take greater than six hours to earn his second win of the 2022 season. 

Elliott led the ultimate 39 laps, together with a four-lap sprint to the end following a late warning, to win the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on a Sunday evening the place two climate delays lasted a mixed greater than three hours.

“It was an extended day,” Elliott mentioned. “A enjoyable day.” 

The victory made Elliott 2-for-2 on concrete-surfaced tracks this yr along with his first victory of the season coming in Could at Dover. 

Takeaways following an extended evening in Nashville.

Elliott will get off the skid 

After successful at Dover, Elliott completed fifth the next week after which posted three consecutive finishes exterior the top-20. An eighth at Sonoma was slightly little bit of a rebound, however Elliott desperately wanted a superb consequence. 

Perhaps saying he desperately wanted a superb result’s a stretch — he was nonetheless the sequence factors chief. He elevated his lead within the sequence standings to 30 over Ross Chastain. 

However Elliott mentioned this win was necessary. 

“The previous month-and-a-half, two months that we have now had have been horrendous,” Elliott mentioned. “I’ve crashed about 10 instances, and we’ve had a number of stuff occurring to finish up having dangerous finishes. 

“I’m proud to have the ability to bounce again from a extremely tough stretch.”

Chase Elliott conquers the concrete to win at Nashville

Chase Elliott stays out on outdated tires after a late warning to win the rain-delayed Cup race at Nashville.

The keys to the victory: 

Elliott getting back from an early pit cease the place he had a unfastened wheel, and he needed to come again in, relegating him to the rear of the sphere.

His holding off Kyle Busch as they battled for the lead with 30 laps to go. 

After which Elliott staying out on the late warning with 11 others, giving him sufficient house that nobody who had pitted for recent tires may catch him within the remaining 4 laps. 

Comebacks to notice 

Ryan Blaney spun with 95 laps remaining as he battled a automobile that he had problem to manage. A number of changes and a superb pit name for him to remain out on the late warning put him in place for a third-place end. 

“We had been back-and-forth on all of it evening,” Blaney mentioned. “We simply couldn’t actually appear to get it proper the place we wanted it to be. … You need to win each single week and that’s what we plan on doing and we simply didn’t get it performed.”

One other driver with a comeback was Kyle Larson, who had an early dashing penalty and like Blaney, the choice to remain out helped him end properly as he crossed the end line in fourth.

It was Larson’s first race with crew chief Cliff Daniels sitting out as a part of a four-race suspension for a wheel coming off at Sonoma. Larson mentioned Daniels remained in communication with the crew, which is being led on the monitor by engineer Kevin Meendering. 

“It actually ran easy,” Larson mentioned. “Cliff was [there] just about, and we received speak to him every time we went to the trailer through the [weather delays]. It didn’t appear approach completely different — only a completely different voice in my headsets. 

“That simply reveals how Cliff has ready this crew.” 

Toyotas lead however empty

Denny Hamlin led 114 laps, Martin Truex Jr. led each levels and led 82 laps and Busch led 54 laps. However the one Toyota within the top-five was Kurt Busch, who was amongst those that stayed out on the late warning and restarted second beside Elliott and completed there. 

“I had a plan and I simply didn’t execute,” mentioned Kurt Busch, indicating he may have raced Elliott slightly rougher on the ultimate laps. “You’re purported to throw fenders, however I didn’t throw fenders. 

“I wished to clean up and in the reduction of to the underside and I didn’t get both one performed. … I simply didn’t get the job performed.” 

Hamlin, Truex and Busch all got here down pit street on the ultimate warning, and Truex and Busch each received shuffled out as Truex received caught up in an incident with Brad Keselowski and Busch ended up spun, relegating them to twenty first (Busch) and twenty second (Truex). Hamlin completed sixth.

Bob Pockrass has spent a long time overlaying motorsports, together with the previous 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports activities in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting Information, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Seashore) Information-Journal. Comply with him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. On the lookout for extra NASCAR content material? Join the FOX Sports activities NASCAR E-newsletter with Bob Pockrass!  

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