If you were anywhere near Dawsonville, Georgia Sunday afternoon, you likely heard two things.
The first was the siren atop the famed Dawsonville Pool Room screaming loudly to celebrate a race win by a native son.
The second was a huge exhalation of air from the residents, as hometown hero Chase Elliott held off defending series champion Martin Truex, Jr. over the closing laps to score his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win at Watkins Glen International.
“Holy cow! What a thrill,” Elliott said after climbing out of his No. 9 Chevrolet in front of the front stretch grandstands. “I don’t know what to say. I’m just so thrilled and so emotional. There’s so much relief you know, it’s been working on three years and I hadn’t won a one and came here with a good opportunity today. I was able to get it done.”
Over the final 12 laps, the 22-year-old speedster worked hard to keep Truex, Jr. behind him. Truex, Jr., the veteran, looked to the inside several times, trying to find the passing lane.
Moments after taking the white flag to begin the final lap, Elliott made a mistake – something rare on this day – as he overdrove turn one, allowing Truex, Jr. to move within inches of Elliott’s back bumper.
“Yeah, I started wheel-hopping and I had two options: knock it out of gear, or spin out,” Elliott said. “So, I chose to knock it out of gear and missed the corner, but luckily had a big enough gap where Martin wasn’t next to me.”
But with both drivers on a two pit stop strategy, fuel was a concern. For Truex, Jr., it would be his undoing.
Coming towards the final two turns, Truex, Jr.’s car slowed suddenly, his No. 78 Toyota out of gas.
Elliott drove away from there, and went on to score his first win in 99 Cup Series starts. In three of those previous events, Elliott was passed for the lead in the final laps.
“It took us some kind of hard times to get here,” Elliott said. “I had to have a good group around me to keep pushing me and keep making me realize that we weren’t in those positions by accident.
“And, it was funny this morning. I woke up and I watched the video. (University of Georgia head football coach) Kirby Smart had a speech about having pressure is a privilege. And, I had that on repeat this morning in the bus, just thinking about it. I thought we had a chance today and wanted to make sure that if we were in a position to try to capitalize, and we did. What a day.”
Elliott’s Chevy Camaro ran out of gas half a lap after taking the checkered flag, showing how close he was to losing the race himself. He was pushed back to the frontstretch by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
The win gives Hendrick Motorsports its 250th Cup Series victory as an organization, and it locks Elliott into the Playoffs with just four races left in the regular season.
Elliott’s father, Georgia Racing Hall of Fame and NASCAR Hall of Fame member Bill Elliott also scored his first win on a road course. That win came at California’s Riverside International Raceway in November of 1983.
Thirty-four and half years later, his son recorded his first win on a road course, albeit on the other side of the country. On Sunday, father Bill was working as a spotter for his son on the backstretch.
“I don’t know how to describe it,” Bill said. “I was standing over there and kind of letting the laps run down and I was thinking, you know, what’s going to go wrong now? He held it together and low and behold, (Martin) Truex runs out of gas. It’s just that luck went our way today.”
While Elliott celebrated his first victory, Truex, Jr. was left wondering what might have been.
Over the closing laps, Truex, Jr. appeared to have a faster car that Elliott. But two turns away from the checkered flag, Truex, Jr.’s gas tank ran dry. He would coast home to a second place finish after winning at Watkins Glen in 2017.
“I gave it everything I had every single lap,” said Truex, Jr. “I could catch him but right when I got close, I’d get loose and fall back. I was too loose all day. Traffic made it worse for sure. He had the upper hand there at the end. We were a little faster but hats off to him. He did a great job. He put his car exactly where I needed mine to be. I couldn’t get it and I was sideways. Congrats to him on his first win. We ran out of gas the last lap anyway, so I guess it wouldn’t have mattered. I’m proud of my guys. I am proud of the effort. I love coming to these road courses.”
Kyle Busch finished in third, but also had to wonder what might have been. He led 31 laps on the day, taking the lead from second segment winner Elliott on the start of the final segment, and led until the final caution flew on lap 53. Busch then won the race off pit road after the final round of pit stops.
But an issue with refueling his No. 18 Toyota meant his crew was only able to get eight gallons of gas into the tank. That brought Busch back to pit road, relegating him to 31st place on the restart.
Busch would charge his way through the field, coming home with a podium finish in the end.
“I had a fast race car and did a good job behind the wheel I guess,” Busch said. “It doesn’t show anything for the result that we wanted to get. Two years in a row here, we had pit road miscues and guess it’s just called bad luck.
“It’s kind of frustrating when you know you come here every year with a vengeance to go out here and win this race and you’re the fastest car and you’re arguably the fastest car or arguably the fastest guy and not able to perform or execute I should say.”
That same round of pit stops saw a lot of issues, including one for Elliott. Elliott brushed his front tire changer as he exited his pit stall, sending the tire changer flying through the air. The crew member landed on the asphalt, and indicated quickly that he was okay.
Problems also struck pole sitter Denny Hamlin on that round of pit stops, as Hamlin left pit road with the air hose caught under car. That would see him penalized by NASCAR. He would finish 13th.
Daniel Suarez came home in fourth, with Erik Jones in fifth.
Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, William Byron, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top ten.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, NY
Go Bowling at The Glen – August 5, 2018
1. (3) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 90.
2. (4) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 90.
3. (2) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 90.
4. (21) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 90.
5. (9) Erik Jones, Toyota, 90.
6. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 90.
7. (14) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 90.
8. (16) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 90.
9. (36) Kurt Busch, Ford, 90.
10. (15) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 90.
11. (18) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 90.
12. (11) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 90.
13. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 90.
14. (22) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 90.
15. (8) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 90.
16. (23) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 90.
17. (17) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 90.
18. (12) Michael McDowell, Ford, 90.
19. (19) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 90.
20. (20) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 90.
21. (10) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 90.
22. (7) Aric Almirola, Ford, 90.
23. (30) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 90.
24. (27) * Parker Kligerman(i), Toyota, 90.
25. (29) Darrell Wallace, Jr. #, Chevrolet, 89.
26. (25) David Ragan, Ford, 89.
27. (24) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 89.
28. (37) Paul Menard, Ford, 89.
29. (26) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 89.
30. (13) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 89.
31. (35) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 88.
32. (32) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, Suspension, 77.
33. (28) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 75.
34. (31) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 73.
35. (34) Spencer Gallagher(i), Toyota, 73.
36. (33) Josh Bilicki(i), Ford, Electrical, 69.
37. (6) Joey Logano, Ford, Accident, 1.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 98.928 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 13 Mins, 44 Secs. Margin of Victory: 7.560 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 11 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Hamlin 1; Kyle Busch 2-17; M. Truex Jr. 18-21; J. Johnson 22; Kyle Busch 23-26; C. Elliott 27-44; Kyle Busch 45-54; D. Hamlin 55; Kyle Busch 56; C. Elliott 57-90.
Leaders Summary: (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led) C. Elliott 2 times for 52 laps; Kyle Busch 4 times for 31 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 4 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 2 laps; J. Johnson 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 78,48,24,34,2,31,88,37,21,6
Stage #2 Top Ten: 9,18,11,20,78,1,4,42,12,19
Top 10 in Points: 1. Kyle Busch – 934 (6 Wins); 2. Kevin Harvick – 864 (6 Wins); 3. Martin Truex, Jr. – 813 (4 Wins); 4. Kurt Busch – 705; 5. Clint Bowyer – 703 (2 Wins); 6. Joey Logano – 691 (1 Wins); 7. Brad Keselowski – 670; 8. Kyle Larson – 660; 9. Denny Hamlin – 650; 10. Ryan Blaney – 639.
