For two Hendrick Motorsports drivers Monday’s rescheduled NASCAR Sprint Cup Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 at Pocono Raceway gave reasons to smile, and wonder what might have been. Rookie Chase Elliott and NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. both had good days, yet came up short of the win.
For young Elliott, who took over for retiring Jeff Gordon as the start of the year, Monday s yet another strong performance. Elliott started 13th, but shortly a restart on lap 66 Elliott was second, got a run exiting turn 1 and had the lead by the time the field got to turn 2. From that point, Elliott would go on to lead a race high 51 laps, more than he had at any time in his short Sprint Cup career.
“We certainly had I feel like one of our best days of the year personally,” Elliott said.
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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