{"id":269233,"date":"2025-10-01T13:11:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T13:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/269233\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T13:11:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T13:11:14","slug":"chase-elliott-completes-comeback-for-the-ages-in-2019-nascar-cup-series-triumph-at-charlotte-roval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/269233\/","title":{"rendered":"Chase Elliott completes comeback for the ages in 2019 NASCAR Cup Series triumph at Charlotte ROVAL"},"content":{"rendered":"

CONCORD, N.C. –\u00a0<\/strong>Chase Elliott<\/a> was in a familiar spot in 2019, in the front row at a road course with 45 laps to go. But at the\u00a0Charlotte Motor Speedway<\/a>\u00a0road course, it generally does.<\/p>\n

In 2018, NASCAR was looking for more variety in playoff track selection and the team at Charlotte Motor Speedway delivered. A\u00a017-turn, 2.28-mile hybrid road course known as \u201cThe ROVAL\u201d<\/a>\u00a0was designed from its existing infield configuration, adding a unique element to an already intense season-ending format. <\/p>\n

It was also good news for Elliott, who was about to go on an impressive run of road course mastery, grabbing four straight wins, including three in his 2020 Cup Series championship<\/a> season. Having already shown his prowess by winning at Watkins Glen in 2018, it was becoming apparent that Elliott was evolving into a road-racing ace. <\/p>\n

Chase Elliott makes legendary comeback to win the 2019 ROVAL race at Charlotte Motor Speedway<\/p>\n

But first, he and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet had to figure out how to win on the Charlotte ROVAL<\/a>. Which was about to become significantly more difficult with 45 laps remaining.<\/p>\n

From outside of the front row, Elliott was poised to take the lead in a race he was largely in control. Streaking past the start-finish line with a sizable jump on the field, the No. 9 Chevrolet was looking to once again be out front entering turn one. Then smoke started rolling up from behind his race car.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He had overcooked the corner and ended up going\u00a0straight into the tire barrier. The words “I can’t believe I\u00a0just did that”, rang out over the team’s radio.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Chase Elliott rallies for thrilling overtime win at Kansas<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time I thought we were done for sure,\u201d Elliott said in the post-race press conference. \u201cYou know, I could see they were showing it up on the big screen. I was like, well, the hood is not that bad. I thought the splitter was knocked up, and I felt like if that was going to be the case, then we were probably done from there. Obviously, just a really, stupid mistake.\u201d \n <\/p>\n

Crew chief Alan Gustafson<\/a> recalled what he and the team encountered when the Dawsonville, Ga., driver arrived at their pit stall. \n <\/p>\n

\u201cIt seemed like it pushed the hood down more than anything, pushed the hood inside of the top of the fenders and back into the windshield,\u201d he said. \u201cThe biggest thing we really had to do (was) get that back sealed up and get it down. As long as the splitter was intact and in good condition, no tire rubs, we were going to be in decent shape.\u201d \n<\/p>\n

\n

“At the time I thought we were done for sure.”<\/p>\n

Chase Elliott\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The crew frantically worked on the car, quickly got it back in order and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet would restart in the 31st\u00a0spot. While not ideal, they still had a chance to salvage the day. As the late great Jerry Reed might have said, \u201cThey had a long way to go and a short time to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back on track, Gustafson and crew had done their job as Elliott re-established the speed he had earlier in the race. And quickly, he\u00a0used it to his advantage, passing car after car exiting turn eight and coming out of the chicane on the backstretch. His confidence in the race car allowed him to take a few more risks along the way. \n <\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>Check out highlights as Chase Elliott roars back to score at Kansas Speedway<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think here (Charlotte ROVAL), a braking zone would be a great place to pass,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cThe problem with here is if you blow the backstretch, you could potentially have ruined your day. <\/p>\n

\u201cOther places, Watkins Glen, you out\u2011brake somebody into turn one. If you blow (the corner), you just run wide,\u201d Elliott continued. \u201cSo, I think you have to think about that, and I think that was probably a big reason why guys weren\u2019t champing at the bit to pull out of line down the back because we didn\u2019t know if we were going to make it ourselves a lot of time, much less two people.\u201d \n <\/p>\n

Chase Elliott celebrates in winner’s circle after his comeback victory on the Charlotte ROVAL in 2019<\/p>\n

With six laps to go, Elliott caught and passed leader, Kevin Harvick, and cruised on to victory after that. Even with a bit of damage, the No. 9 was clearly the fastest car on property. Adding to the big day for Hendrick Motorsports<\/a>, teammate Alex Bowman brought the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet home in second.<\/p>\n

BUY: <\/strong>Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports gear<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n

However, Elliott wasn\u2019t done. In a spectacle only matched by his late-race comeback, he edged his way up to the same tire barrier that unceremoniously caught his car earlier in the day and authored a dramatic burnout session. <\/p>\n

“I was coming back on the frontstretch (for a celebration), I saw that dang thing (turn one tire barrier) and I was like, I can’t pass up the opportunity to go and redeem myself a little bit,\u201d a smiling Elliott said post-race. <\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>2025 Hendrick Motorsports Fan Fest schedule of events<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was really proud of that one,\u201d Elliott added. \u201cI was pretty fired up. It should’ve never been special in the first place but since I went out of my way to make it special, I felt like I had to go back and see it one more time.” \n<\/p>\n

Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA\u00a0Auto Parts crew join his teammates this weekend to once again challenge the Charlotte ROVAL. With his spot already secured in NASCAR’s Round of 8 playoff, he looks to add to his seven NASCAR Cup Series road course victories.<\/p>\n

The Cup Series veteran currently sits third on the all-time list for Cup Series road course victories, tied with Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman, Jeff Gordon, and NASCAR Hall of Famer,\u00a0Tony Stewart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CONCORD, N.C. –\u00a0Chase Elliott was in a familiar spot in 2019, in the front row at a road…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":269234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1406,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-269233","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-nascar","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115299083256962487","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}