Elliott won Thursday night in the rain-delayed event at
Elliott had two frustrating losses in that span, including defeat Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600 when a caution flew two laps from the finish with Elliott leading.
“Man, it’s been a tough week for sure,” Elliott said. “We’ve had some tough losses but that deal on Sunday night was a heart-breaker."
Elliott's frustration began last week — three Cup races ago — when he was trying to race for the lead at
Then he had the 600 checkered flag in site until a caution caused by his own teammate. Elliott pitted from the lead, took four tires and couldn't get back to the front in the two-lap overtime sprint.
There was little suspense in this one. Elliott reeled in
“It’s not the Coke 600, but any win in the Cup series is really hard to get,” Elliott said. “I just really appreciate everybody at
Elliott was charging hard on Harvick with about 35 laps remaining when he asked if he had enough fuel to make it to the finish. Crew chief
Elliott did just that. But after passing Harvick, with nothing but clear track in front of him, Elliott couldn't help but feel haunted by Sunday night.
“I was just waiting for the caution to come out," he said. "If the caution didn’t come out, I was thinking I was probably going to break something or I was going to crash. After the last last couple weeks, surely it was going to go green until the end.
"Hopefully we’re back on the right path.”
Because
“The one day format makes it easier for us,” Hamlin said. “If we had qualifying it would definitely hurt. But under these circumstances that we are in it doesn’t hurt that bad.”
Blaney, who is one of Elliott's closest friends, has been hosting
“We talked about the race and that is just bad luck. He has had a lot of back luck,” Blaney said. “With the 600, that stunk for him. We talked aobut it that night but he was ready for the Trucks race. We did talk and there was a couple hours of it. But he moved on and showed he could win two in a row.”
Hamlin thought all the focus on Elliott's losses was overblown.
“Sometimes cautions are not going to fall your way,” Hamlin said. “I think everyone feels bad because it is Chase and everyone loves him.”
Asked if he felt sorry for Elliott, Hamlin answered with a definitive “No.”
Elliott's victory was the first for a Chevrolet driver in
But Elliott and his Hendrick teammates have been very strong since the series came back from a 10-week shutdown for the coronavirus pandemic. Elliott,
The rescheduled Thursday event was disrupted by lightning and rain for nearly 75 minutes after 30 laps had been completed.
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