Chase Elliott took Chevrolet on its first trip to victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series this season \u2013 claiming the checkered flag in the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. It also marks the first triumph for the new Camaro ZL1 racecar, which made its point-paying competition debut last month at Daytona International Speedway.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Taking the green flag from the 10th starting position, it was a call from atop the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet pit box in the final stage that put the team in contention. Opting to short-pit the final green flag pit cycle, crew chief Alan Gustafson brought the Dawsonville, Georgia, native to pit road on Lap 261. Maintaining position near the front of the field, Elliott earned a spot on the front-row for the restart with 67 laps to go \u2013 ultimately taking the lead and never looking back en route to his 22nd career win at NASCAR\u2019s highest level.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Elliott\u2019s victory \u2013 Chevrolet\u2019s 882nd all-time in NASCAR\u2019s premier series \u2013 extends the manufacturer\u2019s series-leading record to 63 all-time wins in the division at Martinsville Speedway, keeping the .526-mile Virginia venue the Bowtie brand\u2019s most successful track on the NASCAR circuit.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Chevrolet is the first manufacturer to drive to a weekend sweep this season, with JR Motorsports\u2019 Justin Allgaier taking the win in yesterday\u2019s NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series race to keep the Bowtie brand undefeated in the division with seven-straight victories.<\/p>\n
RACE RECAP:<\/p>\n
Stage One:<\/p>\n
Defending Martinsville winner, William Byron, flexed the speed of his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet during Saturday\u2019s qualifying session \u2013 securing a front-row starting spot for the Cook Out 400. Taking the green flag for the opening 80-lap stage, the leaders quickly settled into a single-file formation as Byron found his spot in the runner-up position. It was just shy of the halfway point of Stage One that the leaders approached lap traffic, allowing Byron to quickly close the gap to then race leader, Denny Hamlin, and successfully make the pass for the top position on Lap 40 to lead his first laps of the race. A title battle between the pair saw Byron lead Team Chevy to the first green-white checkered flag with second-place stage points.<\/p>\n
Stage Two:<\/p>\n
With most of the opening stage going caution-free, the stage break presented the first opportunity for teams to hit pit road. A quiet driver behind the wheel for the first run, Byron reported that he had a similar feeling in handling from yesterday\u2019s practice session, with his 5\/8-mark being where he was struggling the most. With a call for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, the No. 24 pit crew kept the team\u2019s track position to line up on the front-row for the start of Stage Two. Electing the top lane proved to challenge for Byron, ultimately falling to the fifth position when he found a gap to fill on the bottom lane. But the run was short-lived as the first natural caution of the day flew at Lap 105. With a mix of pit strategy mid-pack, Kyle Larson was among the group of drivers to make their second trip to pit road. Lining up in the 16th position, fresh tires paid dividends for the No. 5 team with Larson quickly climbing up the leaderboard to make his first appearance in the top-10 on Lap 129. The reigning champion went on to drive to the ninth position to take the second green-white checkered flag, joining fellow Team Chevy drivers, Byron and Shane van Gisbergen, who were among the group of drivers to earn points in both stages.<\/p>\n
Final Stage:<\/p>\n
Progressively seeing gains in the handling of his No. 5 Chevrolet, crew chief Cliff Daniels called his driver to pit road under the stage break for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. A monstrous stop by the pit crew saw Larson make the biggest gain in the race off pit road among the top-10 drivers to line up in the sixth position to take the green flag for the final stage. Enduring a long green flag run to start the stage, Larson, Byron and Van Gisbergen sat strong in top-10 running positions as the field approached the first green flag pit cycle of the race. The lead pack were among teams to stretch the run the furthest, with Larson giving up the seventh position to make his way to pit road with 118 laps to go. With the cycle complete 10 laps later, it was Chase Elliott that capitalized on a short-pit strategy to make his way into the top position to lead the team\u2019s first laps of the day. While on an alternate strategy, Elliott was still able to maintain the second position as the race fell under caution flag conditions at Lap 312 for debris. While much of the field opted for a trip to pit road, a gamble from atop the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team\u2019s pit box saw Ross Chastain inherit the top position to lead the field to the restart. Despite having 30-lap older tires, Chastain was able to muscle his Chevrolet to the lead before a stack-up mid-pack led to another caution the following lap. With a pair of Chevrolet\u2019s sitting on the front row for the restart, it was Elliott\u2019s fresher tires that helped propel the No. 9 Chevrolet back to the lead as the race closed in on 60 laps to go. Elliott pulled away to a nearly one-second lead over the next 25-lap run as lap traffic was on the horizon. Elliott was able to masterfully maneuver through traffic to hold onto the top position and take his first checkered flag of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.<\/p>\n
Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Results<\/p>\n
Pos. Driver<\/p>\n
1st \u2013 Chase Elliott<\/p>\n
5th \u2013 William Byron<\/p>\n
9th \u2013 Kyle Larson<\/p>\n
Chevrolet\u2019s season statistics with seven NASCAR Cup Series races complete:<\/p>\n
Wins: 1<\/p>\n
Poles: 1<\/p>\n
Top-Fives: 13<\/p>\n
Top 10s: 23<\/p>\n
Stage Wins: 2<\/p>\n
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues in two weeks at Bristol Motor Speedway with the Food City 500 on Sunday, April 12, at 3 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.<\/p>\n
Post-Race Driver Quotes:<\/p>\n
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet<\/p>\n
Finished: 16th<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hard to pass today so track position was extremely important, obviously. We made a couple of calls to gain track position in our SafetyCulture Chevrolet which helped. There were a few different strategies in play today but overall, I feel like our car got better it was just so hard to pass. I\u2019m looking forward to the off weekend and getting back in the car at Bristol.\u201d<\/p>\n
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet<\/p>\n
Finished: 25th<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a really fast Dow Coatings\/Behr Chevrolet by the end of the race, so it\u2019s unfortunate that our day played out the way it did. It\u2019s taken us a lot of laps to get our car dialed in here, and we\u2019re not sure if that\u2019s because of the way the rubber lays down or what, but we will reset and figure it out. We opted to stay out instead of pit during a caution in Stage 1 and all of the cars behind us pitted, which ultimately caused us to lose track position and put us behind the rest of the race. This team is gritty and we won\u2019t give up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet<\/p>\n
Finished: 24th<\/p>\n
\u201cThis wasn\u2019t the weekend for the No. 8 FICO Chevrolet here at Martinsville Speedway. From practice to qualifying to the race this afternoon we battled a loose car. The team never quit and now we\u2019ll take what we\u2019ve learned through the initial weeks of the season back to Welcome, NC, regroup and look to rebound after the week off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet<\/p>\n
Finished: 1st<\/p>\n
Alan Gustafson (crew chief) made a great pit call to get you the track position. How did you find a way to hold off Denny Hamlin?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was definitely a team effort. That was awesome. We\u2019ve never had a win this early in the season. Just a really great team effort. So proud of Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the whole No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet team. They did a great job all day.<\/p>\n
We took a gamble. We were going to two-stop that last stage. I honestly think it was going to work out good for us either way. Just so proud of this team. Man, they put up with a lot (smiling). They have to put up with me all the time, and I just appreciate them for sticking with me. It\u2019s lot of fun when days like this work out. Thank you to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, Mr. Hendrick, Chevrolet and all of our partners for the support.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the caution came out, what went through your mind?<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I mean, this whole deal is really weird the way it all works. I told them there around half or three-quarters of the way through that I really didn\u2019t dislike my balance, I just wish I could control my runs a little better. Fortunately, we got to lead on that last restart and fell into a really good pace. I think we probably needed a little bit more to be just the absolute best outright. We were really close. We were able to manage and save enough to get through traffic there at the end.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s really cool when this stuff works out. To win these races is so tough. Just really grateful for the opportunity, as always. I never take it for granted. Trust me, this is a dream come true for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet<\/p>\n
Finished: 5th<\/p>\n
\u201cWe restarted ninth there and had to methodically work our way forward. I thought our No. 24 Cincinnati Chevy was pretty good that last run. The last two runs were probably our best runs of the day, so it was just about trying to manage that. I just tried to get as many spots as I could. Overall, I thought it was a good day. We had a mishap on pit road, and then those guys got the caution there with the two-stop and it kind of changed a lot of things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet<\/p>\n
Finished: 33rd<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall not a great day for our United Rentals team. Going out first in qualifying hurt us with our starting position and when you start deep in the field here at Martinsville, it\u2019s a battle to not go down a lap early. Our Chevrolet initially fired off on the loose side and we made changes to tighten the car up. After the second stop, the balance swung the other way with being too tight and we couldn\u2019t get it back to a neutral spot. Stage 3 was just eventful with a loose wheel under our green flag stop and then being involved in an accident. Hate it for our team, everyone at RCR, and our partners but we\u2019ll work hard to be better next time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet<\/p>\n
Finished: 18th<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just an average day for this No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet team. We had good execution, but we just didn\u2019t have enough speed. I just felt like we ran 20th all day long. We were 28th in practice, qualified 20th and finished 18th. We just didn\u2019t have it this weekend, speed-wise. I felt like we executed well and did everything we needed to on pit road, but it just didn\u2019t work out. Thank you to Spire Motorsports, Delaware Life and Chevrolet for the support. We\u2019ll regroup over the off weekend and get ready for Bristol in a few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet<\/p>\n
Finished: 11th<\/p>\n
\u201cRan in the top 10 all day but lacked overall grip and wasn\u2019t able to hold position on the restarts. The 97 team brought a fast SuperFile Chevrolet, just wish we could\u2019ve gotten a top 10 result. Collected some stage points and had a lot of fun! Great progress heading into the off weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
GM PR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chase Elliott took Chevrolet on its first trip to victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series this season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,716,925,13157,4384,77,720,634,721,1704,722,82],"class_list":["post-570264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-channel","tag-daytona","tag-group","tag-hendrick-motorsports","tag-international","tag-motor","tag-nascar","tag-series","tag-speed","tag-speedway","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}