Wednesday night’s NASCAR All-Star Race was supposed to provide excitement and fireworks like we’ve never seen before. It was a battle around the half-mile at Bristol Motor Speedway for $1-million after all. However, Chase Elliott easily cruised to the finish, holding off Kyle Busch in a less than dramatic final 15-lap shootout.
This marks Elliott’s first-ever win in the NASCAR All Star Race.
It’s a popular win, as Elliott is the sport’s most popular driver, but the race itself did not score any style points.
Kyle Busch finished second, Kevin Harvick was third. Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin capped off the top-five finishers.
Ryan Blaney, who won Stage 1, was sixth.
Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-10 finishers.
Elliott made hay early after starting from the 13th position (11th after Martin Truex Jr. dropped to the rear after failing pre-race inspection multiple times) in the 20-car field. By the end of Stage 1, he had made it to third.
He ran the table the rest of the way as he won Stage 2, 3 and the final 15-lap Stage 4.
The race followed an incredibly entertaining NASCAR All-Star Open race, which saw drivers initiating contact in an effort to move forward in each Stage. The intensity fizzled out at the end of the night.
But, hey, there were lights under the cars and the numbers were in a weird spot on the sides of the cars.
Post-Race Stat Pack:
