Wow. That’s all that can be said after Chase Elliott rallied to win Sunday’s Bank of America 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
Sure, the 23-year old had a capable winning car as he won Stage 2, but when he made a mistake at the beginning of the final Stage it looked like Elliott’s day was done. Fortunately, when he overshot the heartburn turn, Elliott was able to minimize damage and he was able to continue to chase a victory.
Still, Elliott had to come from 37th-position in just 44 laps to pull off the improbable rally.
Over the final few laps, Elliott worked his way around two of the best in the sport — Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. — to take the win.
Following in Elliott’s footsteps was his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman. Bowman, who finished runner-up, somehow rebounded to secure his place in the next round of the Playoffs as well.
Bowman spun on lap one, was black flagged for cutting the course, then he was involved in another accident right at the end of Stage 1. In Stage 2, Bowman also purposely spun Bubba Wallace after the driver was repeatedly signaling obscene gestures at him from his No. 43 car.
Still, when the smoke settled, Bowman’s battered car had enough speed to advance in the Playoffs.
Harvick finished third, Clint Bowyer was fourth and Brad Keselowski came home fifth.
Pole-sitter William Byron finished an impressive sixth.
Truex would fade to seventh over the final few laps, while Ryan Blaney, Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano rounded out the top-10 finishers on the day.
Pending post-race inspection, the drivers who will advance to the next round of the Playoffs are:
Martin Truex Jr.
Chase Elliott
Kevin Harvick
Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski
Denny Hamlin
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson
Ryan Blaney
William Byron
Clint Bowyer
Alex Bowman
Drivers who were eliminated from Playoff contention were:
Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Erik Jones
Post-Race Stat Pack:
