Chase Elliott content with top-five at "one of my worst" tracks
Chase Elliott likely wasn’t dreaming of a win when arrived in Sonoma for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.









In fact, the Hendrick Motorsports driver admitted the 1.99-mile, 11-turn layout had “been one of my worst” tracks.
Which made Sunday’s fourth-place finish all the more surprising. And noteworthy.
“It was a lot more fun this trip out here than it was the last two times,” the 22-year-old said after his first top-five road course finish. “I made a lot of gains, personally, I think for me at this track.
“To come here and have pace on Friday and qualify good on Saturday, to have pace today, it was just a lot more fun. … We had a fast Chevrolet all three days.”
Elliott is one of four drivers competing under the Hendrick Motorsports banner and it’s not exactly been a banner year thus far for the organization. Seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson is in the midst of the longest winless streak of his career (39 races), Elliott is still searching for his first Cup victory while new teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman are trying to fit in and help out and then there’s the new Camaro entry this year that’s taken some time to understand.
None of that mattered Sunday when Elliott capped off a solid weekend with his eighth top 10 of the season and his fourth top five. He finished eighth at Sonoma a year ago but Sunday’s result, he said, felt much better.
“That’s nice to show up and get rhythm,” he said. “We kind of had to pick our battles. … It was a good finish for me and we’re looking forward to the next road race.
His weekend began solidly enough with Elliott putting his No. 9 Chevrolet in the No. 3 qualifying slot on the grid.
A day later, his car was still just as quick, and consistent as well.
While a few of those running up front – eventual race winner Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Harvick for instance – chose to pit prior to the end of each stage in order to gain track position on ensuing restarts, Elliott and crew chief Alan Gustafson stood pat, collected their share of the stage points while still managing to remain in contention.
Briefly out of the top 10 as he and the others began to cycle through their final scheduled pit stops, Elliott worked his way back toward the front.
He was second with 17 laps remaining, and hanging on as others with fresher tires began to close the gap.
With nine laps to go, Harvick got around Elliott, the two splitting Justin Marks as they came upon the slower car.
Six laps from the end, Clint Bowyer was hounding Elliott and finally made the pass for third in Turn 7. But Bowyer would be the last.
“I don’t think we had the pace that the No. 4 (Harvick) and the No. 78 (Truex) had so we elected to try to get stage points … and obviously when you do that, that sets you back for the final (stage),” said Elliott.
“Fortunately, I had a good enough car to drive forward and get back in the top five.”
Elliott remains 13th in points, 48 points ahead of teammate Bowman in the cutoff position for the final spot in this year’s playoffs.

Allmendinger dejected after Sonoma DNF: "I let everybody down"
Indianapolis Motor Speedway adds dirt racing to NASCAR weekend

Latest news
Diriyah E-Prix: Buemi claims pole in 100th Formula E start
Sebastien Buemi claimed pole for his 100th Formula E race, coming from behind in the opening two sectors to beat Jake Hughes in an evenly-matched Diriyah E-Prix qualifying final.
Farfus says BMW could have reliability edge over LMDh rivals
Augusto Farfus has dismissed concerns about BMW's apparent lack of pace in the build-up to the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and feels the German manufacturer could have an edge when it comes reliability.
How Formula E's new emergency braking system will work
Formula E has introduced an emergency braking kit for the Diriyah E-Prix as a failsafe should the rear powertrain stop working over the course of a race weekend.
Maserati MSG not yet "consistently fast" with Gen3 FE car – Mortara
Edoardo Mortara says the Maserati MSG outfit still has to understand how to be "consistently fast" with the Gen3 Formula E car following a difficult Mexico City E-Prix.
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
After holding his nerve and hip-checking his teammate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know
How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of Next Gen arrival
The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major engine overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars.
How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory
From villain to hero, Kyle Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, but his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines...
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.