Looking to rebound from a tough start to the Round of Eight, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 quickly turned a top-10 qualifying effort into a fight for the lead in the early laps of Stage One. Reaching the third position near the midway point of the 80-lap opening stage, crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for the first green-flag stop of the race. A quick stop by the No. 9 pit crew put the former champion in position to cycle to the front and fight for the top of the leaderboard with 37 laps remaining in the stage – ultimately taking the first green-white checkered flag in the third position. Putting together yet another strong points run in Stage Two, Elliott continued to be a contender throughout the race – going on to lead Chevrolet to the checkered flag with a fifth-place result. Elliott, a past winner at Martinsville Speedway, will take on the Round of Eight elimination race from the eighth position in the standings and 43-points below the elimination line.
· Despite a disappointing qualifying result, William Byron quickly started clicking off position towards the front of the field – driving his No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 from 25th to the top-15 in just 15 laps. Hitting pit road for two rounds of stops during the opening stage, Byron had a masterful restart following the second caution of the race – maneuvering his Chevrolet-powered machine into the top-10 before settling into an eighth place finish in the stage. Collecting another set of crucial points in Stage Two, Byron remained a steady fixture in the top-10 through the remainder of the race – going on to extend his top-six streak to five-straight with a sixth-place finish. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native leads Chevrolet’s playoff contenders into the Round of Eight elimination race from the fourth position in the playoff standings with a seven-point cushion over the cutline.
· Running second to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate in the opening stage, Kyle Larson suffered a flat right-rear tire on his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1, bringing out the caution at the 49-lap marker. Immediately going to work on their Chevrolet, the Cliff Daniels-led team made a set of trips to pit road for repairs but maintained a position on the lead lap. Battling an ill-handling car well into Stage Two, a turnaround came to fruition as Larson progressively climbed the leaderboard – entering the top-five on lap 185. Closing to the bumper of then-race leader Ryan Blaney, a three-wide move for the lead with just 12 laps remaining ended with a spin that ended the valiant comeback. After a rollercoaster day, Larson took the checkered flag in the 13th position – heading into the final race of the Round of Eight fifth in the playoff standings and just seven-points below the elimination line.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 13th
You were three-wide between the No. 12 and the No. 3 for the pass for the lead. What did you feel in the racecar when that happened?
“Yeah, I mean you’re making split-second decisions. Austin (Dillon) did nothing wrong. I was just hoping that he would see me coming as the No. 12 (Ryan Blaney) got to his inside, and maybe he’d run a lane off the wall just to give me some clean air. He continued to run his line. I had a little bit of a hole and I was trying to shoot the gap to get in front of the No. 3 and get to the wall quickly to either hopefully stay on the outside of the No. 12 or build a run to have a shot at him in (turns) one and two. But yeah, it just didn’t work out. I was going as hard as I could. The No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team did a great job rebounding after the flat tire.”
Next week, we head to Martinsville Speedway. What do you think about next Sunday?
“Yeah, we’ve been strong at Martinsville (Speedway) at times, so we’ll see. It’s not my best track, but I’ve been a lot better there since I joined Hendrick Motorsports. We just need to qualify well and give it our best shot.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 5th
You led the most laps that you’ve ever led at Homestead-Miami Speedway. What did you need to battle for the win.. were you fighting tight conditions there at the end?
“I just got tighter and tighter as the day went on. I was just trying to manage that on the front side of a run, and ultimately I just didn’t do a great job of managing it. When the pace got quicker and everyone started pushing, I didn’t really have anything left to push.
It was a really solid couple of weeks for the No. 9 NAPA Chevy team, from a pace perspective. That’s encouraging as you move along in the playoffs.”
You’ve run so well at Martinsville Speedway in the past. How confident are you going into the elimination race.
“Very confident.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 6th
On the last stop of the race, your team elected to pit first out of the playoff drivers. Was that the right move?
“I don’t think it really mattered. We kind of had what we had today. We weren’t good enough, and we were just trying to get all we could. I feel like a sixth-place finish is good. If it had gone green there, we were going to end up top-five. I don’t know how that changes the points, but we just have to go to Martinsville Speedway and compete for a win.”
Is Martinsville Speedway a place where you think you can get the job done?
“Absolutely. We did it in the spring, so we should be able to.”
Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
Finished: 29th “We started the weekend with so much speed and our best qualifying spot of the year. Unfortunately not being able to run the top was our biggest challenge. Trent [Owens] made some positive changes that helped get some movability in the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy and get us moving in the right direction towards the end.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAYFRANCHISE.COM CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 16th
Suarez on his race at Homestead-Miami Speedway:
“It was an OK day for the No. 99 FreewayFranchise.com Chevy team. It was a little bit difficult when you have top-15 speed. We had a couple things that didn’t go our way; a slow stop and then the strategy right there at the end. We finished close to what we deserved, so we’ll take it and move onto Martinsville (Speedway).”
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