AUSTIN, Texas – The debut NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas featured a little bit of everything Sunday, and it was capped off by the sport’s most popular driver going to victory lane.
In a waterlogged, rain-shortened EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at the 3.426-mile, 20-turn permanent road course, Chase Elliott earned his 12th Cup Series victory when low visibility and inclement weather forced a red-flag stoppage 14 laps shy of the scheduled 68-lap distance.
Though there were several hours of daylight remaining, concerns over safety – which were brought to the forefront after two harrowing, multi-car accidents during stage two – and worsening conditions due to standing water puddling on the course led to NASCAR declaring the race official at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Sunday marked Elliott’s sixth Cup Series win on a road course in his 14th road course start at NASCAR’s top level. Half of the Dawsonville, Ga., native’s Cup victories have come while turning left and right.
“I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve never won a rain race before, so it’s kind of cool,” said Elliott in victory lane. “I’m just super proud of our team for just continuing to fight. We started the day, and we weren’t very good. I just kept pushing myself and we kept making some good changes throughout the day and got to where I thought we were on pace with those guys there at the end. I’m really proud of that.
“It’s not the greatest thing ever, for it to rain and to have a rain race win, [especially] if it’s your first one; but I think it’s okay if it’s down the road, so I’m pretty excited about this one,” he added. “I’m looking forward to next week and trying to keep [the momentum] rolling.”
The Cup Series’ 14th race of the season began with drama even before the green flag, as NASCAR declared the track “damp” for the start, requiring teams to roll out on wet-weather tires that many drivers believed weren’t the right call given the track was still “dry enough” for slicks.
Austin Cindric proved that theory correct early, using his extensive road-course background to jump from third to the lead on the opening lap as polesitter Tyler Reddick and others struggled to find grip.
Cindric stayed out until lap five, when he finally pitted for wet-weather tires, leading to a carousel of Martin Truex Jr. and Michael McDowell sharing the lead before Joey Logano took control on lap 11 and went on to win the opening stage.
Rain was intensifying around the track, however, leading to large rooster tails behind cars that significantly hampered visibility.
That was first put on display at lap 19, when several simultaneous check-ups led to five drivers – Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – receiving significant damage due to contact, either by running into another car or being run into by another car.
Of that quintet, Harvick, Bell and Wallace found themselves done for the afternoon at that point.
Following a lengthy caution for cleanup due to oil dropped from Harvick’s No. 4 Ford, racing resumed on lap 25, but the green flag remained out for less than a lap before the most harrowing moment of the day.
Moments after Martin Truex Jr. ran into the back of a slowing car on the backstretch due to poor visibility, his Toyota was impacted at nearly top speed by Cole Custer’s Ford, sending the back end of Truex’s car several feet in the air as it was shoved down the track.
Custer’s car later hit a left-side barrier and then burst into flames as it ground to a halt, creating a scary scene from which – thankfully – both drivers walked away uninjured.
A red flag of nearly 21 minutes followed while NASCAR cleaned up the crash site and used track drying equipment to blow some of the standing water off the racing surface, with former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ryan Preece leading the field back to green on lap 29 over Kyle Busch.
Busch assumed command in turn one on the restart and went on to win the second stage, controlling the start of the final stage as well before he and Elliott made their final pit stops on lap 40.
With both Busch and Elliott likely short on fuel to make it to the finish, a game of strategic cat-and-mouse unfolded as drivers came down one after another to receive their final rounds of pit service.
Kyle Larson led for four laps before his last stop on the 44th circuit, then Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman paced the field for two and three laps, respectively, before Elliott cycled back to the front on lap 50.
Still, though, Elliott was being told by crew chief Alan Gustafson that he was two laps short on fuel and wouldn’t be able to make it to the finish without pitting again, so he tried to open up as large of a gap as he could as weather conditions began to worsen once again.
Finally, after Kurt Busch hydroplaned and nearly collected two other cars, NASCAR called the race-deciding caution for weather on lap 54 and brought the field down pit road minutes later.
A short hold followed before the race was made official, with Elliott besting Larson, Logano, Chastain and NASCAR Xfinity Series regular A.J. Allmendinger in the final rundown.
Chase Briscoe, McDowell, Bowman, Reddick and Kyle Busch closed the top 10.
In terms of milestones, Sunday’s win was the 800th Cup Series triumph for Chevrolet as a manufacturer and the 268th for Hendrick Motorsports as an organization – tying it with Petty Enterprises for the most in series history by one team.
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues May 30 with the 62nd running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Brad Keselowski is the defending event winner.