Martin Truex Jr. overcame a penalty for jumping the start at the green flag at Richmond, but easily made his way back to the front and held off Denny Hamlin to secure the win.
Denny Hamlin won Stage 1 and held off Kyle Larson over the closing laps to win the Cook Out Southern 500. It was Hamlin's first win of the season and locked him into Round 2 of the Playoffs.
Ryan Blaney avoided late carnage at Daytona and took the win in an overtime finish to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400. It was Blaney's third win of the season and second in a row, and places him second in the playoff reset.
Elliott started 34th after failing to post a qualifying time, but methodically worked his way into the lead, passing Matt DiBenedetto on Lap 38, and then overtaking Kyle Busch with 17 to go.
Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team started their championship title-defending campaign with a strong top-five finish in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
