Monday
Flat Tire Spoils Chase Elliott’s Day at South Boston
Press Release
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The 4/10-mile South Boston track once was on the schedule of the series now known as Sprint Cup, and NASCAR’s all-time win leader Richard Petty won there five times. Racing back in the day was typically very competitive, and Sunday’s South Boston 150 was no different as there was very tight racing throughout the field.
Inclement weather on Saturday cost teams much needed practice time, but Elliott and the crew of his No. 9 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet didn’t seem to need much time on the track to tune their car. During the only practice on Sunday afternoon, Elliott’s crew made only minor changes to the front end of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. Elliott said to crew chief Ricky Turner, “It’s just a little too tight in the center.” The No. 9 Chevy ended practice with the 12th fastest time of 88.468 miles per hour.
In qualifying, Elliott turned a lap at 89.569 mph, good enough for the ninth starting position, his first top-ten start in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
On the initial start Elliott fell back one spot to 10th where he settled into a rhythm to save his equipment for the end of the race. The first caution flag came out on Lap 15 for a car in the outside wall in Turn Four.
The green flag flew on Lap 22 with Elliott on the outside in 10th place, but he lost two spots on the restart after being squeezed up high on the outside and getting a piece of the turn two wall. Elliott quickly found an opening and ran in the 12th position, putting heavy pressure on the 11th-place car of Eddie MacDonald. Elliott ran MacDonald hard for 13 laps, but MacDonald kept Elliott behind him until the next yellow flag, on Lap 39. During the caution Elliott radioed to crew chief Ricky Turner and said, “It’s pretty neutral right here. I’m just trying to save my stuff.”
The green flag flew again on Lap 43. On the restart Elliott surged forward, driving the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet up to 10th just before another caution came out on Lap 48. The green flag flew again on Lap 54, starting a lengthy caution-free run where Elliott found himself riding contently in the 10th position.
However, at the halfway point of the race, on Lap 76, Elliott had a right-front tire go down in turns three and four and had to pit under the green flag, ruining any chances of another good run for his number 9 Chevrolet.
Elliott gingerly brought the car down pit road [pit entry was in turn two], and after bringing the car to the attention of his crew pitting in turns three and four returned to the track four laps down and out of contention for solid finish. Still, he raced hard, passing cars regularly, but often not for position as he was laps down.
During a caution period at Lap 91, Turner had Elliott bring the car down pit road to make sure the right-front tire wasn’t rubbing any suspension parts which would cause another flat. The green flag flew again on Lap 99, and the remainder of the race saw only two more cautions and one red flag at 10 laps to go.
The final restart waved with nine laps to go and Elliott found himself and Michael Cherry on the same lap so he knew who he was racing to the finish. On the final restart Elliott was well ahead of Cherry and stayed ahead of him to bring the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet home to a 22nd-place finish behind race winner Sergio Pena.
After the race Elliott pointed out that there were some positives to an otherwise disappointing weekend.
“I thought this weekend was a big improvement from Greenville-Pickens,” he said. “We just had some bad luck with the tire problem. “We still have work to do. We’re all still learning.” Elliott and his crew will return to the track on Thursday, April 28, at Richmond International Raceway for the Blue Ox 150.
“Racing at Richmond is going to be another milestone for the HendrickCars.com / Aaron’s Chevrolet team,” Elliott said. “I am really pumped about it.”
- Chase Elliott Racing Press Release
Article Tags: Blue Ox 150, CER, Chase Elliott Racing, Eddie MacDonald, Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway, HendrickCars.com / Aaron's Chevrolet, Michael Cherry, NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, No. 9 HendrickCars.com / Aaron's Chevrolet, NSCS, Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, Ricky Turner, Sergio Pena, South Boston (VA) Speedway
