The Chevrolet camp has had very little to cheer for so far in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series season. The only race they have won this year with the new Zl1 was the season opening Daytona 500.
Since then the Chevy contingent has had little to show for their efforts in victory lane.
Chase Elliott gave them a reason to cheer Sunday, and almost a reason to celebrate.
After stating 9th, Elliott worked his way forward, finishing second in stage one which ended on lap 70.
By lap 120 Elliott was slowly reeling in then-leader Martin Truex Jr. In heavy lapped traffic on lap 129 Elliott got by the reigning champion for the lead. The Hendrick Motorsports driver would go on to win his first stage of the season and the first stage win for Hendrick Motorsports in 2018.
“I was shocked, to be honest with you, that we ran even that good,” Elliott said. “Our whole NAPA group did a great job overnight. I really have no idea where that came from. I hope it wasn’t dumb luck. Hopefully we can keep it rolling because it’s really nice to be able to go up there and lead some laps. I know it wasn’t the right part of the race, but still, leading laps for us is big compared to what we’ve been doing.”
He would finish the day fifth and leave Chevy fans wondering when that all-elusive second win for the ZL1 will happen.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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