Chase Elliott snapped his NASCAR winless streak with a dramatic win at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon, with the Hendrick Motorsports star sending a message to team boss Rick Hendrick
Chase Elliott issued a heartfelt shoutout to Rick Hendrick with the team boss watching from home as he driver ended his NASCAR winless run.
Elliott snatched an emotional triumph at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, while driving a special paint scheme. He broke through the chaos to claim victory in a race that saw a huge crash bust brackets for the new In-Season Challenge.
A daring maneuver on the final lap nudged Elliott’s No. 9 past Brad Keselowski, sealing his first win since Texas last April. And he quickly remembered to send a touch message over the airwaves to his loyal team boss watching on screen, before later being passed a phone to presumable speak to Mr Hendrick in Victory Lane.
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“Hey to Mr Hendrick at home. Thanks for sticking with me, pal,” he said during his TNT Sports post-race interview.
Reflecting on snapping a 44-race streak, Elliott said: “Unbelievable. How about that? Are you kidding me? I never in my life. This is unbelievable. Thank you guys so much. What a special car. It was a lot of fun. This right here is something I’ll never forget.
“I just think that, honestly, all the cars fell in the right places there those last couple of laps. What a crazy race, man!
“I don’t know if y’all had fun but it was wild from my seat, so glad we got to run that thing out there til the end.”
In the euphoric aftermath of his finish line cross, Elliott exploded over the radio with a jubilant: “YESS!” Then followed up with heartfelt praise: “Awesome job, man! Awesome! Thank you guys, so much.”
Crew chief Alan Gustafson was all praise over the radio, declaring: “Awesome job, buddy. Awesome. You’re the man buddy. You’re the man.”
Elliott, feeling the team effort, responded with gratitude: “Awesome. Preciate y’all, man. Thanks for sticking with it.”
This triumph seals their fate in the high stakes playoffs, skyrocketing them as the 10th driver this season to notch a victory and clench a coveted position in the playoffs’ high-octane showdowns.