Hendrick Motorsports created history last Monday at Daytona International Speedway. Willaim Byron took the team to their first Daytona 500 win in a decade. Alex Bowman in the No:48 HMS car finished the race at P2 after failing to take his teammate’s lead before the final caution flag was waved for a lap crash.
What made the day more special for the HMS was that the win came on exactly the 40th anniversary day of their NASCAR Cup debut. But not everyone at HMS was enjoying and having a party, as 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Eliott was disappointed in himself after a poor execution cost him a solid finish like his teammate.
Elliott, who won stage one of the 500 miles race, pointed out that he was able to get just a P14 finish in the race because of a late-race mistake. RCR’s Kyle Busch shoved him off for a risky attempt at taking the gap while racing. He was dropped to the back after losing the good momentum he so far had in the run.
I made a mistake. I saw Kyle [Busch] who was coming really hard on top, and I tried to pick his lane up, and he gave me a big shove. I thought I could sneak back to the middle, and the #20 [Christopher Bell] was wanting to be there too. 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 William [Byron]. Elliott told Fox 5.
The 2024 season is the year of redemption for Chase Elliott
The 2023 NASCAR Cup season was a disaster for Elliott. He failed to make it into the playoffs last season and didn’t even score a single win while his teammates Byron and Kyle Larson went into the season finale.
He failed to secure wins after missing out on six races due to a tibia injury and one more race due to suspension. This killed his momentum, and his not fully recovering from the injuries made it a tough year.
He has come to the season fully fit with hopes of regaining the abilities that were suppressed by the injuries. This Sunay’s race at Atlanta would be another great opportunity for him to get off of the unfortunate winless streak.
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