Lady Luck might have bestowed Chase Elliott with a redemption in the works. The NAPA Auto Parts No. 9 Chevrolet driver ended stage 1 of the 2024 Daytona 500 as the race leader and has brought home important stage points as well. Having started the race on the pole twice in his illustrious Cup Series career, Elliott hasn’t found that winning edge in the biggest race of the NASCAR calendar.

A huge positive from his first stage outing at the Daytona International Speedway is the return of leading pace to the No. 9 car. Having struggled to find momentum throughout 2023, the 28-year-old is still in search of a first Daytona 500 victory. With teammate Kyle Larson and a fellow Chevrolet driver right behind him on the grid, it was an intense battle to the end of stage 1. Chase Elliott also received some help from the big crash on lap 6 that essentially shuffled some of the fastest cars on the field.

Chase Elliott still has it in him

Before Monday’s race, neither recent history nor statistics were in the #9 driver’s favor. Elliott had also clarified that his immediate goal was to become a competition to some of the fastest cars on the grid. While he highlighted the importance of momentum before the race, he also showed the same approach in the race. Using his limited opportunities to gain positions, Chase Elliott claimed the first playoff points of the 2024 season.

With 10 points in the bag, Elliott will hope to continue gathering invaluable stage points throughout the season as insurance for his playoff chase. The 28-year-old led the Chevrolet charge with HMS drivers dominating the top-5. Kyle Larson finished stage 1 right behind Chase Elliott in second as Alex Bowman and William Byron finished 4th and 5th.

In the second stage, Ford drivers stole the spotlight from Chase Elliott and Co. Apart from Kyle Busch‘s No.8 Chevy, not many drivers could replace Joey Logano or Ryan Blaney in the front row. Elliott continued to operate with a fuel-saving approach and pushed for the lead in the final stage of the race.

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Despite surviving the ‘Big One’, Elliott feels he could have finished better

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The big wreck on the 192nd lap retired 18 cars from the race. P1 contenders like Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano were collected in the incident and this provided a huge opportunity for Chase Elliott. With Ross Chastain and a few more cars escaping the wreck by being ahead of it, Elliott had to navigate his way through the debris as he managed to make it to the restart.

Following the long red flag period, Elliott tried to close in one Chastain but fell back with his teammates Byron and Bowman taking charge. Speaking about his expectations from the race, Chase Elliott said, “I’m not sure I would’ve got to the front row, but certainly would’ve been a better finish than where we ended up. So hate that, but had a solid day otherwise, happy for (Byron).”

Considering he has yet to recover completely from his slump in 2023, Chase Elliott’s P14 finish on Monday had some encouraging takeaways. Having started the season in fourth place in the standings, he could use this headstart to shape a successful season.

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