Chase Elliott has been Hendrick Motorsports’ top performer in 2026, but the two-time winner entered Saturday’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway looking to snap a recent drought.
Since Elliott’s most recent victory for the No. 9 team and Hendrick Motorsports at Texas Motor Speedway on May 3, he went 12 consecutive races without a top-five finish. He managed a single top 10 during that span, finishing seventh at Nashville Superspeedway two and a half months ago. He entered Richmond on a string of nine straight finishes without a top 10, the longest spell of his career.
Both Elliott and his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates were competitive throughout the 400-lap event. The No. 9 Chevrolet charged into the top 10 during the opening stage to earn a pair of stage points. Elliott leaped a couple more positions in the running order during Stage 2 to finish seventh, banking four additional points.
Over the final 170 laps to the finish, the Alan Gustafson-led bunch played the strategy right, jumping a pair of spots. Elliott took the checkered flag in fifth position to lead the way for Chevrolet.
“Really nice to have a solid day,” Elliott told USA Sports. “I feel like we’ve had a really rough stretch over the last two or three months. We’ve had a couple of OK days, but for the most part, it’s definitely not what we’ve been looking for.
“Obviously, tonight wasn’t a win or anything, but for how it’s been going, it feels nice to put together a solid night and also know that there was still room for improvement. I thought we had a couple of hiccups on pit road, I made a couple of mistakes but nothing was crazy.”
During the bumpy summer months, Elliott had a pair of DNFs at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway, where he was battling for the lead when he got loose and tagged Christopher Bell. The No. 9 car also got pinched into the wall while racing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, resulting in a broken toe link and a 37th-place effort.
At the same time, Elliott has flirted with multiple top 10s. He had a handful of finishes between 11th and 15th in the eight races leading into Richmond. And as recently as Indianapolis, Elliott was optimistic that the No. 9 team could turn the corner and contend for the 2026 championship.
“Well, it’s July and they hold out the trophy in November,” he said on July 24 at Indianapolis. “Storylines can change quickly, as we all know. Three weeks of running good and you all will be talking about how, ‘Man, these guys are the championship favorites. It can change fast.”
Elliott can breathe a sigh of relief, however, as the No. 9 team delivered a strong result and improved throughout the Richmond race. He is tied with Bell for sixth in the regular-season standings.
“Proud of everyone for sticking out with it and continuing to show up each week with a good attitude,” Elliott stated after the race. “Hopefully, this is an opportunity for us to get things rolling in the right direction. It would be a good time to do that if we can make it happen. Hopefully, tonight is a good start.”
Even better for Hendrick Motorsports is all four cars cracked the top 10 for the first time since April 2025 at Talladega Superspeedway (50 races ago). Kyle Larson rallied to sixth after spending the bulk of the 400 laps outside the top 10, catching the free pass multiple times. William Byron and Alex Bowman finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
Next up is New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a venue that NASCAR’s equivalent to the New York Yankees haven’t raised the venue’s signature Loudon the Lobster trophy since 2012 with Kasey Kahne. Both Byron and Elliott slotted inside the top five in last year’s 301-lapper.