“It was nice to get some reps.” Chase Elliott’s words may seem like he was simply talking about a practice session. However, he was referring to the recently concluded NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway. He qualified in the 8th spot for the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet looking for a second victory in a Darlington Xfinity race – the first came back in 2014. He almost did it and fell short in the final lap – yet Elliott has no regrets.
Despite Chase Elliott treating the run like a practice session for the Goodyear 400, he was at his best. He overcame a crippling hurdle which descended upon him in the first stage. Then he gave a solid fight to eventual race winner Brandon Jones till the very end. And he was not even up in front to start with!
Chase Elliott regards it as a good day
The pole starter for Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 was another Cup Series racer, Christopher Bell. C-Bell huddled with other race leaders like Justin Allgaier and Ross Chastain for the initial part of the race. While Bell, Allgaier, and Chastain battled through slow pit stops and crazy wrecks, Chase Elliott was biding his time in the background. However, he ran into a significant amount of trouble of his own. After Stage 1 ended, he had to pit his No. 17 car to fix minor damage in the front. That cost Elliott track positions as he fell from 11th to 35th. But we all know the 2020 Cup Series champion does not back down so easily.
In less than 45 laps, Chase Elliott made his way back into the top ten, and he washed up 8th in the second stage. Starting in 6th place in the final segment, he had advanced to fifth by the time the first of three yellow flags. Following two crucial pit stops, the No. 17 rocketed to second with 17 laps to go. With fresh rubber, both Chase Elliott and Brandon Jones got an advantage over the other leaders. However, Jones was able to take advantage of the clean air and got away.
Brandon Jones claimed the lead and charged off with a lengthy advantage, comfortably claiming his second Darlington victory. Despite narrowly losing the game to Jones, Chase Elliott was content. He said post-race: “I got where I wanted to, and I was just tight. Finally started turning with 2 or 3 to go, but at that point, I was out of time. A crazy day; there was a lot that went on. It was fun, I appreciate them letting me drive.”
Chase Elliott is the runner-up today.
“I got where I wanted to and I was just tight. Finally started turning with 2 or 3 to go but at that point I was out of time. A crazy day, there was a lot that went on. It was fun, I appreciate them letting me drive.”
— PRN (@PRNlive) April 5, 2025
Overall, Chase Elliott focused on his true goal – preparing for the upcoming Cup Series race. He conceded that despite the difference in cars, he could still glean some positives from the Xfinity race. “The cars are very different for sure, but I do think there are a couple of small characteristics that hold to be true as the runs go on, late into a run, that you end up struggling with the same thing, kind of. So, I do think there are a few things you can take from it … and I think more than anything it was nice to get some reps.”
However, Chase Elliott’s Cup Series venture may have gotten off to a slow start. That was in contrast to one of his teammates, who soared above everyone else.
Disparity within the ‘golden team’ of NASCAR
Chase Elliott’s Cup Series journey in Darlington has been winless so far. Yet he has clinched four top-fives – and Saturday’s marvelous Xfinity outing gave him a boost of confidence. However, practice and qualifying for the 2025 Goodyear 400 yielded some different results. The Hendrick team leads the championship points – first (William Byron), second (Kyle Larson), third (Chase Elliott), and fifth (Alex Bowman). Despite this, three drivers did not fare well during Saturday’s time trials, including Elliott. Elliott will start 19th. Larson, who won at Darlington in 2023, will start 19th, and Bowman will roll off 33rd. Meanwhile, their teammate Byron clinched the pole in dominant fashion.
William Byron’s lap of 170.904 mph around the iconic 1.366-mile oval set a fast lap. It marked his second pole at the notoriously tough Darlington track. “Tried to find a decent balance there, worked on it and got better and finished practice pretty strong, so I felt like I had some confidence going into practice,” Byron reflected. He shared some insights on his teammates’ slower pace as well. “It may be tricky strategy-wise, and you can get stuck back there, so [qualifying] matters maybe just a tick more than other places. These cars are really finicky, so hitting the balance and just hitting the lap the way you want it to be can be really difficult. So I’m not surprised because there’s a lot of parity in the Next Gen era and especially in qualifying so you can be just that little bit off.”
Evidently, Chase Elliott’s Xfinity pace has not yet transferred to his Cup Series prospects. But the night is young – and we already know that Elliott can achieve the impossible.
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