NASCAR Cup Series

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.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 SUNENERGY1 CAMARO ZL1 – RACE WINNER - WHAT WAS YOUR EMOTION DURING THOSE FINAL FEW LAPS WHEN THE NO. 78 (MARTIN TRUEX, JR.) WAS TRYING TO CATCH YOU? ‘Holy cow! What a thrill! I don’t know what to say. I’m just so thrilled and so emotional. There’s so much relief you know; it’s been working on three years and I hadn’t won a one and came here with a good opportunity today. I was able to get it done. But, just thanks to all the fans. I hope all my buddies are ready to get rowdy tonight because it’s going to be a good one.”

“On behalf of everyone at Chevrolet, I am extremely pleased to congratulate Rick and the entire Hendrick Motorsports family on this tremendous accomplishment of 250 race wins in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles, and Motorsports. “This major milestone is the result of years of passion, persistence, and teamwork to get the job done. We are especially proud of the fact that all 250 wins have been in Chevrolet race cars. Rick’s passion for the brand and dedication to putting Chevrolet in Victory Lane has been relentless. As a key partner and respected friend, we salute you.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 SUNENERGY1 CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner - WHAT WAS YOUR EMOTION DURING THOSE FINAL FEW LAPS WHEN THE NO. 78 (MARTIN TRUEX, JR.) WAS TRYING TO CATCH YOU? ‘Holy cow! What a thrill! I don’t know what to say. I’m just so thrilled and so emotional. There’s so much relief you know; it’s been working on three years and I hadn’t won a one and came here with a good opportunity today. I was able to get it done. But, just thanks to all the fans. I hope all my buddies are ready to get rowdy tonight because it’s going to be a good one.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion – (Finished 37th; Accident on lap 2) WHAT HAPPENED ON THE TRACK AND WHAT WAS THE STORY IN THE GARAGE BECAUSE IT LOOKED LIKE YOU GUYS WERE GOING TO TRY AND FIX THE CAR AND GET BACK OUT? “I don’t really know what happened in the garage on how the whole repair situation repair is. I don’t know. It’s somewhat confusing, I think, to all of us to try to understand exactly how that works, so I don’t really know what happened there."