LONG POND, Pa. - Chase Elliott followed a top-three finish in Mexico City with a top-five run at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, pushing Hendrick Motorsports to a little history along the way.
Elliott finished off a solid day with a fifth-place finish, marking the 25th straight race with at least one of the organization's four Chevrolets coming home in the top five dating back to last year. That is now the longest such streak in company history.
Adding to the day, Elliott also scored points in both stages, gathering three tallies in stage one and coming home third in stage two to earn eight more.
Joining Elliott in the top 10 was Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, who came home seventh. Alex Bowman, who led laps during stage two, was solid in an 11th-place run.
As is a staple of racing at Pocono, pit strategy ruled the day with teams diverging on different plans in stage one. That was to Hendrick Motorsports' advantage early as seven cars short-pitted the stage break, allowing Elliott (eighth), William Byron (ninth) and Bowman (10th) to earn some valuable points.
Stage two quickly devolved into a rash of cautions and ensuing pit strategies. A total of four yellow flags waved with all four Hendrick Motorsports entries coming and going near the front as pit stops cycled through.
Bowman led 15 laps, restarting in fourth around the halfway mark of the segment and driving his way to the point. He was out front with 18 laps to go when a yellow for debris waved. Bowman pulled the No. 48 Ally Best Friends Chevrolet onto pit road while others stayed out including his three teammates.
Another caution came out with 12 left to go in the stage for a crash including Ty Dillon, Shane van Gisbergen and Kyle Busch. In the end, Elliott (third), Byron (fourth) and Larson (ninth) all earned stage points.
At the stage three break, Byron sacrificed a bit of track position to wait on fuel, theoretically cutting pit time later in the segment. As he began his fight through the field, he was forced to check up to avoid a near crash in front of him, costing the No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet a handful of spots.
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Then, the race's final caution flew with 36 laps to go as van Gisbergen spun again. Already in the back, Byron ducked down pit road to take fuel but mired in dirty air, the going was tough. He finished 27th but maintained the top spot in points.
Elliott was part of a four-car breakaway at the front of the field throughout stage three until slipping one spot in the late going.
The NASCAR Cup Series will return on Saturday night with a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Who won the NASCAR race today?
- Chase Briscoe, No. 19
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
- Ryan Preece, No. 60
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Best Friends Chevrolet
- Josh Berry, No. 21
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Cole Custer, No. 41
- Noah Gragson, No. 4
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Zane Smith, No. 38
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet
- Todd Gilliland, No. 34
- Cody Ware, No. 51
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Ty Dillon, No. 10
- Brennan Poole, No. 44
- Michael McDowell, No. 71
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Riley Herbst, No. 35