Chase Elliott knows what went wrong as he makes – Sports News
Chase Elliott pinpointed the precise motive why he wasn’t capable of coast down victory lane at Martinsville Speedway over the weekend.
On Sunday, Elliott started the Cook Out 400 within the entrance row and led for 42 laps – the second most of any driver. But the No. 9 Chevrolet driver was unable to fend off Denny Hamlin, who led for 274 of the NASCAR Cup Series race’s 400 laps en path to claiming his sixth win at Martinsville and first of the 2025 marketing campaign.
For a lot of the afternoon, Elliott gave the impression to be one of the few drivers on the grid succesful of difficult Hamlin for the lead. The 29-year-old was in the end pressured to accept P4 – his fourth prime 10 end within the final 5 races.
Following the race, Elliott voiced his pleasure with the robust displaying however conceded that he lacked the control needed to surpass Hamlin. “I thought our car was really good, honestly,” he started.
“Thought our team did a good job yesterday, leading into the weekend, and then certainly getting this thing where it needed to be I thought for a balance for today. All that was really good, just needed control of the race. I really needed to get to Denny [Hamlin] there at the end of that second stage and try to get control.
“I knew the second half everybody was going to be better and closer. Just that little bit of being able to control this thing from that point forward means a lot. Unfortunately I didn’t do a great job getting to him. I was trying, just came up a few car lengths short. Yeah, just puts you in a tough spot trying to play catch-up and whatnot. Solid day – we need more than solid, so we’ll keep trucking.”
Whereas Hamlin masterfully managed his tires during a pivotal 75-lap, green-flag run to conclude the Cook Out 400, Elliott took a ultimate pit stop that he acknowledged “actually didn’t help” his trigger. “Really needed control and unfortunately couldn’t get that back for us,” he mentioned.
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Elliott moreover made sure to offer Hamlin his due reward on the heels of his near-perfect efficiency. The No. 11 Toyota driver secured the fifty fifth Cup Series victory of his profession and – within the course of – snapped a 31-race drought that may very well be traced back to the Wurth 400 at Dover International Speedway final April.
“He was really good on the long run. When you have control like that, it makes a big difference in how you can control your run,” Elliott mentioned of Hamlin. “Having that clean air and not having that one guy – just one guy – in front of you makes a huge difference.
“Came up short. Didn’t get the job done. We’ll try again next week.”
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