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SPORTS Monday 29 april 2019

Chase Elliott wins Cup race at Talladega, 1st win for Chevy

By JOHN ZENOR with all Chevy drivers for
AP Sports Writer the late-race teamwork.
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — The race ended under cau-
Chase Elliott felt right at tion after David Ragan hit
home, embraced by fans William Byron, who tagged
at a track a few hours from Kyle Larson and sent him
home and one where his sliding across the track.
father celebrated victory a Larson then flipped half a
couple of decades before. dozen times before coming
This time it was Chase's turn. to a stop.
Elliott won the Cup Series "That was probably the lon-
race Sunday at Talladega gest flip I've ever had," Lar-
Superspeedway, giving son said. "I haven't seen a
Chevrolet its first victory of replay of it. I didn't know if
the season. He finished well it would ever stop. I knew
in the clear from a race- I was flipping and was just
ending crash that flipped hoping that I wasn't going
Kyle Larson a half-dozen to get any closer to the
times. catch fence, so it was a
Elliott took the lead shortly little bit scary, but thankfully
after a restart with four laps I'm all right."
to go and worked with The 2019 aerodynamics
three other Chevy drivers to package had cars reach-
hold off the rest of the field. ing higher speeds than
He won for the first time NASCAR wanted in prac-
since October and went tice, so officials tried to
to victory lane about 150 slow them down with a
miles from his hometown in late rules tweak. But the
Georgia. changes made the cars go
His Hall of Fame father Bill even faster, leaving many
Elliott won twice at Talla- veterans wary of the clos-
dega in the 1980s. ing speeds and potential
"Dad's history, obviously for chaos and high-speed Chase Elliott celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeed-
very cool," Chase Elliott crashes. way, Sunday, April 28, 2019, in Talladega, Ala.
said. "To me the biggest But the race was mostly Associated Press
piece of today was just how wreck-free — until the final
much of a home race it felt lap. could get to his quarter where to go and rammed knocked out of the race.
like after the race. I was Elliott's victory ended a sev- panel. I was pretty confi- into Buescher's rotating Hamlin joined them in the
blown away by the people en-race winning streak for dent I could get to his quar- Chevy, lifting it several feet pits a short time later.
and how fired up every- Ford at Talladega. Penske ter panel in the tri-oval and off the track. Buescher car TOYOTA'S TROUBLES
body was. That was an un- Racing had won six of the who knows who's going to then hit Truex and Justin It was a tough day for Toyo-
believable experience. We last nine. get to the line first at that Haley. ta, with the only Top 10 fin-
are close to home, so that's But it was a Chevy celebra- point. I thought I could do EARLY EXITS ish with Kyle Busch at No. 9.
cool, and they made me tion — for a change. it, but it depends on the car It didn't take long for the Martin Truex Jr., Hamlin and
feel that way. "We needed to win this," behind you and where he first wreck at Talladega Su- Matt DiBenedetto were
"I couldn't ask for much said Alan Gustafson, Elliott's goes. It would have been perspeedway. The first one caught up in wrecks.
more there." crew chief. "We needed to fun to try. caught up Stewart-Haas STILL STREAKING
His father was back in Geor- consolidate our efforts. We LATE MELEE Racing teammates Clint Seven-time series cham-
gia driving in a vintage cars needed to break the streak Martin Truex Jr.'s race es- Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. pion Jimmie Johnson ran
race. (He won, too), that one of our rivals has sentially ended with seven Bubba Wallace and Ryan over a piece of debris,
Hendrick Motorsports team- here." laps to go. Blaney tangled on Lap 10 punctured a tire and hit the
mate Alex Bowman finished Bowman didn't get a Aric Almirola turned Chris to touch off the crash that wall early in the race. He
second, followed by rookie chance to try any last-gasp Buescher, who was vying also caught up Daytona fell several laps behind the
Ryan Preece, Joey Logano attempts to pass his Hen- for the 10th spot, coming 500 winner Denny Hamlin. leaders and extended his
and another rookie, Daniel drick Motorsports team- out of Turn 2 and caused Wallace went low, got side- career-long winless streak
Hemric. mate because of the cau- a four-car wreck that in- ways and then slid back to 69 races.
Elliott is the sixth driver to tion. cluded Truex and brought across the track, slamming UP NEXT
win through 10 Cup races "Well, I'm not just going to out a red flag. Buescher into Michael McDowell and The Cup Series moves to
this season and locked up let him win, right?" Bowman slammed into the wall and causing heavy damage Delaware next Sunday for
a playoff spot. said. started spinning. to both cars. Harvick, Mc- the Dover 400. Elliott is the
Elliott credited a meeting "I've got to try. I knew I Matt DiBenedetto had no- Dowell and Wallace were defending race winner.q