NASCAR Cup Series

This week should have been a good week in NASCAR. Chase Elliott, the second coming of Dale Earnhardt Jr., finally won a Monster Energy NASCAR...

We've had six weeks of positive energy from great racing and a truly momentous victory by possibly the most popular driver in NASCAR today. And what is the big story nearly 24 hours removed? It's the arrest of the sport's leader for drunk driving.

Chase Elliott led two different times in his No. 9 Sunenergy1 Camaro ZL1 for 52 of the 90 circuits around the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen road course en route to his first career Monster Energy Cup Series victory in the GoBowling at the Glen, the 22nd-race of the 2018 campaign. Elliott’s victory is the second for the Camaro ZL1 in Cup Series competition, ending a 20-race winless streak for the Bowtie Brand. This is the 22-year-old’s first win and first top 10 finish at Watkins Glen International in his 99th career MENCS start.

RICK HENDRICK, TEAM OWNER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS – RACE WINNING OWNER - CAN YOU START OFF BY TALKING ABOUT CHASE ELLIOTT AND HOW HARD HE HAS WORKED TO GET TO THIS POINT IN HIS CAREER? “Chase is such a great young man and such a super, unbelievable driver and he should have had this win his first season. He should have about, I don’t know, seven or eight wins and for him to… I hated he had to wait this long, but boy what a show he put on today pressing two of the best in the business and being up there all day and not making mistakes. He has got an awesome amount of talent. I think today was a statement. A road course, battling Kyle (Busch) and Denny (Hamlin) and Martin (Truex, Jr.) it was so much fun to see all the fans that think so much of him to show their appreciation. It was exciting.”

Paul Menard and the No. 21 Menards/Sylvania team started their day at Watkins Glen International with a disappointing outcome in inspection and ended it with a similarly unhappy situation due to an on-track incident and a pit penalty that trapped them a lap down and led to a 28th place finish.

Toyota drivers captured four of the top-five finishing positions in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race – the eighth time since joining series competition in 2007 and for the second-consecutive MENCS event at Watkins Glen International.

Much like his famous father Bill back in 1983, the Dawsonville, Georgia native scored his first career MENCS race at a road course.  Just like his father, he had to endure many runner-ups before celebrating that inaugural Cup victory.

Austin Dillon and the Dow Racing Team Earn 27th-Place Finish at Watkins Glen International "What a day for the Dow Racing team. Going into the weekend, I had high hopes for our team because I felt like our car was really good on the long run. We were challenged throughout the race, but we were able to run solidly in the top-20."

A hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. came up a little short, finishing second to first-time winner Chase Elliott in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series road race at Watkins Glen International.

On August 5, 2018, there was no dejection and there was no "Elliott was his own worst enemy." Instead, to the thunderous applause of a sold-out crowd in attendance at Watkins Glen International, he took the fight to and passed points leader Kyle Busch for the race lead, he led the remaining 63 laps, drove his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to and over the limit and held off defending series champion Martin Truex Jr. to finally win for the first time in the Cup Grand National Series.