FORT WORTH, Texas — After a 42-race winless streak and three overtime attempts on Sunday, Chase Elliott returned to victory lane after an eventful NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Elliott survived three overtime restart attempts as the field around him seemingly wrecked one by one. Ross Chastain started outside of Elliott on the final restart and challenged for the win but was turned around after contact with William Byron on the last lap.
Denny Hamlin led with under 10 laps to go but wrecked on his own from second during the first overtime restart. Harrison Burton wrecked during the second overtime restart.
"I couldn't feel any better," Elliott said to the media after the win.
Elliott led just 39 of the race's 276 laps as varying strategies put several drivers out front throughout the day. The race's second half had no clear dominant car until Elliott got to the lead.
Brad Keselowski, Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Daniel Suárez rounded out the top five.
Kyle Larson started from the pole and easily won stage one. He seemed to be the car to beat on Sunday until a right rear tire fell off his car under caution on lap 116. Larson was given a two-lap penalty and settled for 21st.
With Larson out of the picture, the lead was traded between several different drivers. Hamlin, Reddick, and Chastain became the names that populated the top spot in the race's second half.
Elliott and Hamlin fought for the lead with around 30 laps to go, with Hamlin holding a slight advantage. A timely caution allowed Elliott to take the lead back after a late restart. Hamlin then crashed during the race's first attempt at overtime, all but securing the win for Elliott.
Calamity struck several drivers on Sunday. Larson, Burton, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Jimmie Johnson, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Blaney, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were among the drivers whose days were thwarted by spins or wrecks throughout the day.
Elliott's win on Sunday is the 19th of his career and his first since he won at Talladega in October 2022. Elliott went winless in 2023 after missing six races due to a leg injury. He missed another race in 2023 after being suspended for aggressive driving.
The NASCAR Cup Series is back in action on April 21 at Talladega Superspeedway. Kyle Busch is the defending winner.
