Elliott’s Complicated Relationship With Texas Ends In Victory Lane

Elliott Wins At Track He Loves To HateJames Gilbert - Getty Images

Shortly after Chase Elliott recorded his second victory this season at Texas Motor Speedway in the Wurth 400, the Georgia native admitted he’d disliked the 1.5-mile track for years, so he was surprised when crew chief Alan Gustafson told him he was a two-time Texas winner.

Elliott explained that he had “trashed” the facility for years because it didn’t like the way the first and second turns were reconfigured.

“Obviously, there’s some selfish opinion in that because I thought it was a really strong track, and then it turned into not a strong track at all,” Elliott said. "Those things combined I think just put a bad taste in my mouth.

“For as hard of a time as I’ve given it, for some reason it likes me. It loved me back. I didn’t like it, but it liked me. So, I’m learning to come around a little bit. I wish it would share some of that love with some other tracks on the schedule that I want to like.”

Elliott’s second victory in the first 11 races is the earliest in a season he has won multiple events. In 2022, he didn’t have multiple wins until 17 races into the season. That year he went on to total five victories. This year, Elliott and Tyler Reddick are the only drivers with more than one victory.

In claiming his 23rd career Cup victory, Elliott defeated Denny Hamlin by 0.407 second. It was the second time this year the two drivers have finished 1-2. The other race occurred at Martinsville in March when Elliott defeated Hamlin by 0.565 second.

Hamlin thought he might challenge Elliott for the lead before Corey Heim spun with 11 laps remaining. Neither driver pitted and when they lined up for the restart with four laps to go, Elliott took the inside lane while Hamlin chose the outside. Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman lined up behind him.

“I thought I got a good restart there at the end side-by-side, but then, you know, just the way the side draft works there into turn one with him getting the push from the 48 (Bowman), it just allowed his momentum to pick up a little bit quicker than mine,” Hamlin said. “I tried to hang on to the side, but I was just getting tighter as the closer I was getting to him.”

While Elliott was flawless on the track, his pit crew executed three of its best pit stops this season.

“They were phenomenal,” Elliott said about his pit crew. “They’ve been really good for years. The truth of the matter is I haven’t done a good enough job to put them in a position to have their talents on display all the time. They’ve kept us in races that we didn’t deserve to be in, large in part to a poor job on my behalf. (Today) things were kind of flowing from my perspective and they answered the call then, too.”