Chase Elliott locks in NASCAR win at Daytona road course, bubble drivers hold spots

A rookie spun a veteran. Lightning forced a stall. Kyle Busch went to the garage. And ultimately, Chase Elliott conquered NASCAR’s first Cup road race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday evening.

“Any win at Daytona is special,” Elliott said after his third road course win in a row. “And (crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) and I were joking. He said we had to change it to a road case to win a race here at Daytona.”

Following a 30-minute weather delay and a late-lap caution for Busch, whose rear tires blew out, Elliott held his lead over the field through the final stage of the Go Bowling 235 to clinch his second checkered flag of the season. Denny Hamlin finished in second place and Martin Truex Jr. finished third.

Elliott, who won the first stage, regained the lead at the start of the last stage just before the red flag came out for a lightning strike. After pit stops cycled through when the race went green, Elliott raced back to first place with 10 laps remaining.

“We had that run there after the lightning break,” Elliott said. “And then I think the odds of it going green from there to the end, I think we all knew were pretty well slim to none. So it was just a matter of when that caution was going to come out in my eyes and in my head. I had already accepted that long before it came out.”

He was able to put over 11 seconds on Hamlin, who won Stage 2, until the yellow flag came out for Busch with five laps left. Leaders Elliott, Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson stayed out instead of pitting, but Elliott stayed just ahead of Hamlin for the final laps of the race. Truex got under Johnson in the final lap to clinch third, while Johnson finished in fourth.

With only three events remaining in the regular season following Sunday’s race, we’re turning the attention to teams and drivers on the playoff points bubble.

Jimmie Johnson finishes fourth

It was a strong day for Hendrick Motorsports, but not quite the victory Johnson needed. The No. 48 driver hovered around third place for most of the final stage of the race. He also finished in third in the first stage for an additional eight-point gain, but was out of the top 10 for stage 2.

Before the race, Johnson was tied with Erik Jones at 26 points below Byron on the cutoff. With Byron’s top 10 and Elliott’s first-place finish, Johnson should hold his spot on the bubble before next weekend’s doubleheader races at Dover.

“The new paint scheme looked good up front today,” Johnson tweeted after the race. “I lacked the rear grip I needed to fight for the win. Next up, my favorite track for a double header. Congrats to @chaseelliott, the 9 team and all of @TeamHendrick for the W.”

William Byron places in the top-10

Byron was 26 points up over the cutoff as the 16th driver to slide into the postseason in points prior to Sunday. He earned four points with a seventh-place finish after the first stage and tacked on another seven points in stage 2 by finishing fourth.

Byron, who started 13th, said prior to Sunday’s race he would race the first 10 laps somewhat cautiously to learn the track, but by the end of the first stage, his No. 24 team said the car was “slow.”

Still, Byron gained 10 positions after the restart for lighting and raced up to sixth place with 10 laps left. Byron finished the race in eighth place.

Erik Jones just misses

Jones, tied with Johnson in points prior to Sunday, was also looking for a stage or race win. He gained five points with a sixth-place finish in stage 1, and like Johnson, was out of the top 10 for stage 2. Jones raced up to ninth with 10 laps left.

When the final caution came out, Jones one was one of a few who pitted for tires. He dropped to 18th place, but raced to 11th for the finish. Still, that finish doesn’t give Jones the points bump he needs.

Austin Dillon’s replacement driver Kaz Grala finished in the top 10 in seventh place, while Chris Buescher (finished fifth) and Michael McDowell (10th), who are below Jones in points, finished ahead of him.

Kyle Busch stays struggling

Sure, the reigning Cup champion isn’t a guy who’s necessarily on the “bubble,” nor is he a driver who should be. But Busch continued on his 2020 streak Sunday at Daytona, and Busch’s 2020 streak means no race wins so far this season and a lot of rotten luck.

After Busch battled with Johnson and brother Kurt Busch to claim second place in the final stage of the race, Busch pitted his No. 18 under green for a brake rotor issue and had to take his Toyota to the garage. He re-entered the race six laps down, and ultimately brought out the final caution flag when at least one of his two rear tires blew. The other tire reportedly had an issue as well.

Final results

This story was originally published August 16, 2020 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Chase Elliott locks in NASCAR win at Daytona road course, bubble drivers hold spots."

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription