Chase Elliott won Sunday’s Yellawood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Ala. after getting some big help from a fellow Chevrolet driver.
Elliott was fifth on the final restart with two laps to go. Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones were both on the front row. Elliott managed to slip ahead and got a critical push from his manufacturer teammate Jones to come out in front. He held off Blaney by 0.046 seconds for the checkered flag, propelling him into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Take a look at the push Elliott from the No. 43 Chevrolet to propel him ahead of Blaney.
“He gave me some great shoves. Obviously, the team Chevy partner there,” Elliott said in a post-race interview.
Jones finished the race sixth. He is not in the playoff, which is why he was able to help the No. 9 Chevy with the push.
Elliott is the first playoff driver to win one of the playoff races. He is also the first driver to qualify for the Round of 8.
Entering next week’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval, Austin Cindric, William Byron, Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman would be the four drivers eliminated from the playoff field.
Blaney finished second at Talladega and is second behind Elliott in the playoff standings.
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