MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Chase Elliott’s title hopes took a massive hit when his car suffered a catastrophic mechanical problem during a pit stop Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
Elliott had worked his way from the back of the field inside the top-five until he stopped for a routine service. His Chevrolet lurched as he pulled away and he radioed in to his Hendrick Motorsports crew that he believed he had a broken axle.
Elliott returned to pit road for lengthy attempts at a repair before he finally drove his car to the garage for more intense work. It dropped him to last in the field by the end of the second stage.
Although Elliott qualified second, he had to drop to the back of the field at the start because his engine failed just five laps into the first practice session Saturday. His car was clearly fast enough to recover for a solid finish until the mechanical issue.
Elliott returned to the track down 52 laps from the leaders and in a must-win situation either next week at Texas or in the elimination race of the third round of the playoffs at ISM Raceway outside Phoenix. Only four drivers will advance to the Nov. 17 title-deciding race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr., meanwhile, won both the first and second stages of the race. He passed Kyle Larson right before the checkered flag to preserve the victory; Larson had cycled into the lead by not pitting under a late caution.
Truex took the lead coming off pit road during service stops under yellow in the first stage and quickly went to work lapping most of the field. He led 224 of the 260 laps through the first two stages.
Denny Hamlin started from the pole but had a below-average first pit stop under caution after leading the first 31 laps. He restarted fifth, with teammate Truex the new leader.
Hamlin later lost about four positions on a pit stop during the second stage.
NO TIFFT
Matt Crafton raced Sunday at Martinsville for Matt Tifft, who fell ill before Saturday’s practice sessions and was treated at a hospital.
Crafton practiced and qualified the No. 36 for Front Row Motorsports while Tifft was at the hospital. Tifft was sent home and posted on social media he’s “still learning more of what exactly happened” and he is “resting at home now and have follow ups soon to get back to full health and back in the car soon.”
Tifft had a brain tumor removed in 2016 but returned to race the next year. He said in January he had been stabilized to the point he only needed annual checkups.
UP NEXT
The middle race of the third round of the playoffs, Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick won last year but was disqualified after for an illegal part. Hamlin won in the spring.
