NASCAR Cup Texas: Late clash helps Elliott end 42-race winless streak

Elliott grabbed the lead for the time on a restart with eight of the scheduled 267 laps remaining, after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wrecked off Turn 2 to bring out the 12th caution of the race, and fended off Denny Hamlin on a restart with two laps to go.

Kyle Larson then hit the wall at Turn 2 to cause another caution and set up yet another restart with two laps to go, only for Hamlin to spin at Turn 4 while fighting Elliott for the lead which sent the race into overtime.

But the 2020 NASCAR Cup champion then needed to keep clear of Ross Chastain in two overtime restarts, a second caused by a wreck involving Harrison Burton and Kaz Grala, before finally securing the win when the caution came out after William Byron clashed with Chastain as the pair battled for second place.

The victory ended a winless streak by Elliott that dates to the 2022 season, a span that included missed races for a leg injury and a one-race NASCAR suspension.

With the caution out to ensure he could ease to the chequered flag, an emotional Elliott said over his team radio: “I cannot tell you, each and every one of you, how much I appreciate you for sticking with me.”

Elliott, with his 19th career win, becomes the third different Hendrick Motorsports driver to win in the first nine races of the 2024 season.

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, Hooters Chevrolet Camaro (Photo by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images)

"Oh, man, I couldn't feel any better," Elliott said after the race. "Hooter's has been a partner of ours for a number of years now. It's been a dream of mine to pay respect to the late Alan Kulwicki.

"Driving this car to a victory and do a Polish victory lap - it's just really crazy how things came full circle there in that moment. It was pretty emotional for me. He beat dad back in the day. Here we are sharing his sponsor and having an opportunity to win today.

"I couldn't be more grateful for this journey and kind of the path that hasn't always been fun, but certainly have enjoyed working with our guys. We've been working really hard and really well together. Like I said, hasn't always been fun, but we've enjoyed the fight together."

The late collisions saw Brad Keselowski move up to second for RFK Racing, with Elliot’s Hendrick team-mate Byron in third.

Tyler Reddick took his best result since finishing runner-up in Las Vegas with fourth place for 23XI Racing, as Daniel Suarez completed the top five for Trackhouse Racing.

NASCAR Cup - Texas race results

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points	Retirement
1	C. Elliott Hendrick Motorsports	9		Chevrolet	276	3:33'14.495		9	45
2	B. Keselowski RFK Racing	6		Ford	276	+0.558 3:33'15.053	0.558	9	40
3	W. Byron Hendrick Motorsports	24		Chevrolet	276	+0.678 3:33'15.173	0.120	11	36
4	T. Reddick 23XI Racing	45		Toyota	276	+0.948 3:33'15.443	0.270	10	40
5	D. Suarez TrackHouse Racing	99		Chevrolet	276	+1.425 3:33'15.920	0.477	12	32
6	C. Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing	14		Ford	276	+2.079 3:33'16.574	0.654	13	43
7	B. Wallace 23XI Racing	23		Toyota	276	+2.309 3:33'16.804	0.230	11	40
8	A. Dillon Richard Childress Racing	3		Chevrolet	276	+2.310 3:33'16.805	0.001	13	29
9	K. Busch Richard Childress Racing	8		Chevrolet	276	+3.106 3:33'17.601	0.796	11	28
10	C. Hocevar Spire Motorsports	77		Chevrolet	276	+3.324 3:33'17.819	0.218	11	27
11	J. Logano Team Penske	22		Ford	276	+3.551 3:33'18.046	0.227	11	26
12	R. Preece Stewart-Haas Racing	41		Ford	276	+3.889 3:33'18.384	0.338	9	25
13	T. Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing	54		Toyota	276	+4.080 3:33'18.575	0.191	9	26
14	M. Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing	19		Toyota	276	+4.443 3:33'18.938	0.363	12	23
15	C. Buescher RFK Racing	17		Ford	276	+4.570 3:33'19.065	0.127	8	22
16	T. Dillon Kaulig Racing	16		Chevrolet	276	+4.571 3:33'19.066	0.001	11
17	C. Bell Joe Gibbs Racing	20		Toyota	276	+4.572 3:33'19.067	0.001	18	29
18	N. Gragson Stewart-Haas Racing	10		Ford	276	+5.140 3:33'19.635	0.568	9	19
19	E. Jones Legacy Motor Club	43		Toyota	276	+5.141 3:33'19.636	0.001	9	25
20	D. Hemric Kaulig Racing	31		Chevrolet	276	+5.236 3:33'19.731	0.095	11	17
21	K. Larson Hendrick Motorsports	5		Chevrolet	276	+5.557 3:33'20.052	0.321	12	26
22	C. Lajoie Spire Motorsports	7		Chevrolet	276	+5.558 3:33'20.053	0.001	11	15
23	R. Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing	47		Chevrolet	276	+6.352 3:33'20.847	0.794	11	17
24	J. Haley Rick Ware Racing	51		Ford	276	+6.353 3:33'20.848	0.001	11	13
25	A. Cindric Team Penske	2		Ford	276	+6.703 3:33'21.198	0.350	9	12
26	Z. Smith Spire Motorsports	71		Chevrolet	276	+6.703 3:33'21.198	0.000	12	11
27	K. Grala Rick Ware Racing	15		Ford	276	+6.979 3:33'21.474	0.276	12	10
28	H. Burton Wood Brothers Racing	21		Ford	276	+9.429 3:33'23.924	2.450	11	13
29	J. Johnson Legacy Motor Club	84		Toyota	276	+10.093 3:33'24.588	0.664	13	8
30	D. Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing	11		Toyota	276	+10.094 3:33'24.589	0.001	11	15
31	T. Gilliland Front Row Motorsports	38		Ford	276	+10.537 3:33'25.032	0.443	10	6
32	R. Chastain TrackHouse Racing	1		Chevrolet	275	+1 Lap 3:32'42.480	1 Lap	8	15	Accident
33	R. Blaney Team Penske	12		Ford	268	+8 Laps 3:33'27.740	7 Laps	12	17
34	J. Nemechek Legacy Motor Club	42		Toyota	226	+50 Laps 2:46'08.532	42 Laps	13	3	Accident
35	M. McDowell Front Row Motorsports	34		Ford	143	+133 Laps 1:44'17.898	83 Laps	6	5	Accident
36	J. Berry Stewart-Haas Racing	4		Ford	136	+140 Laps 1:36'08.448	7 Laps	7	1	Accident
37	A. Bowman Hendrick Motorsports	48		Chevrolet	100	+176 Laps 1:04'00.124	36 Laps	6	1	Accident
38	A. Hill Richard Childress Racing	33		Chevrolet	98	+178 Laps 1:02'40.776	2 Laps	5		Steering
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