Larson and Elliott Come Up Short of Victory and Championship 4 Berth – Motorsports Tribune

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer

Hendrick Motorsports and Martinsville Speedway have gone together like glue over the past 40 years. A lot of highs and lows have happened, and Sunday’s Xfinity 500 was no different.

While one Hendrick car will fight for a championship at Phoenix Raceway, the other two who were in the Round of 8 will not. Those who ended up with the short straw were Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson.

Neither former champion will be a part of the Arizona pageantry after their Championship 4 bids were dashed for not winning the race nor collecting the amount of points necessary to advance.

Both drivers endured an up-and-down 500-lap race with Elliott overcoming a slow pit stop early and sustaining damage after a tangle with Chris Buescher. Despite the setbacks, Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet was competitive, leading five times for 129 laps.

Larson ran consistently strong in the top-10 and had his time towards the front in the final stage, leading 71 consecutive laps.

However, Larson’s lead evaporated with 25 laps remaining when Elliott, who went with a different pit strategy, caught his teammate and took the lead. The pass meant Elliott would have a chance at the championship whereas Larson was out of title contention if he wasn’t leading.

Larson would never match his pace and finished third, delaying his chance at a second title once again. Despite being eliminated, Larson was proud of the efforts and resiliencies made all throughout the Round of 8.

“This whole Round of Eight has been a fight, really. From the first stage at Las Vegas on, it’s been a fight. I feel like we made the right pit call to give ourselves the best opportunity,” said Larson. “I’m proud of my team; the car, the pit crew, everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. We just didn’t have enough.”

Elliott’s moment in the sun had to be earned as Ryan Blaney entered the fray for the top spot, knowing a win will get him in the Championship 4 over the Hendrick duo. With 14 laps remaining, it was game over for the Fall 2020 winner as Blaney out muscled Elliott on the bottom groove and went on his merry way to a second straight Fall victory and a shot at retaining the Cup title.