‘It’s par for the course here.’ Elliott’s chance at Darlington win slips away again

For the second time this year, it was heartbreak for Chase Elliott at Darlington Raceway.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver led with less than 20 laps to go in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 but wasn’t able to come away with the victory.

Elliott got together with Martin Truex when Truex attempted to make a pass on him coming into Turn 1 with 15 laps to go.

Truex appeared to clear Elliott but the back of Truex’s car hit Elliott’s front bumper and ended the chance for both drivers to win at Darlington.

“He was close but he wasn’t all the way clear,” Elliott said after the race. “I hate it. I had a fast NAPA Camaro, obviously fast enough to contend. ... I ran the bottom in three and four and that is what gave him the run.

“He slid up into my front, I felt like, and on we went.”

Truex, who dominated for most of the night, was remorseful following the race and thought he was going to be able to get by Elliott.

“I was committed. There was nothing I could do. Really unfortunate,” Truex said. “Really thought I had the position to go in there. Will have to go back and look at it and see if something I could have done differently. Had the car to beat, obviously.”

Kevin Harvick went on to get the win. Elliott finished 20th and Truex came in 22nd.

Elliott was trying to become the second driver-son combo to win a Cup race at Darlington, joining Buck and Buddy Baker. Elliott’s father, Bill, won the Winston Million at Darlington in 1985.

Elliott also had a chance for his first Darlington win May 20 before he was involved with Kyle Busch in a late-race incident. Busch appeared to try to merge directly behind Elliott just across the start-finish line with 28 laps remaining when he clipped the back of the No. 9 Chevy, spinning Elliott into the wall and out of the race.

Elliott also crashed with Joey Logano with three laps left at Bristol on May 31.

On Sunday, Elliott took the lead on a late pit stop with less than 50 laps to go. He maintained the lead by running on the top of the track until he went to the bottom as Truex started to close in.

By the time he went back to the top, Truex was able to get close and attempted the pass before the two cars collided.

“I wanted to make sure there was nothing left down there. I had a little gap to try something and make sure he wasn’t baiting me,” Elliott said. “... But hey, it is par for the course here I suppose.”

The finish won’t hurt Elliott’s playoff chances. He heads to Richmond next week in seventh place with two races left in the first round. The top 12 drivers advance to the second round.

Harvick, Sunday’s winner, still thinks Elliott can be a factor in the postseason.

“I think this lines up well for Chase when you look at the race tracks. Obviously they run well here. He’s a very good road course racer,” Elliott said. “He runs well at Bristol. So when you look at the way the race tracks line out, if they can capitalize on their strengths, they have a good opportunity to do what they need to do. They run well at Martinsville, too.”

NASCAR at Darlington race results

This story was originally published September 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.

Lou Bezjak

The State

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Lou Bezjak is the High School Sports Prep Coordinator for The (Columbia) State and (Hilton Head) Island Packet. He previously worked at the Florence Morning News and had covered high school sports in South Carolina since 2002. Lou is a two-time South Carolina Sports Writer of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Support my work with a digital subscription