TALLADEGA, Ala. – Chase Elliott and the No. 24 team gave it all they had, but a win at Talladega Superspeedway eluded them Sunday.
With that, the rookie’s run in the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup comes to an end. Elliott was one of four drivers eliminated at Talladega as the Chase moves to the Round of 8.
"We tried to make it happen," Elliott said. "Disappointed we came up short -- this NAPA team has been fighting hard these past few weeks. We've had some awesome race cars and it's definitely unfortunate to come up short there."
Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson advances to the next round on the strength of his win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS will have three races to earn the right to race for a seventh championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"It’s time to go racing," Johnson said. "We will see what happens in these next three races.”
The Round of 8 begins at Martinsville Speedway and continues with trips to Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway, where four more drivers will be eliminated and the Championship 4 will be finalized.
In his career, Johnson has 18 combined wins at the three tracks that comprise the Round of 8.
“Excited about the three tracks that are coming up -- they are great for us historically," Johnson said. "I hope they continue to be great tracks for us as we look for our seventh championship."