NASCAR All-Star Race: Chase Elliott tastes his first win as he takes home $1M, fans thank him for ‘great show’
NASCAR’s first All-Star race that took place on Wednesday (July 15) night came across as a breath of fresh air following all that occurred with its only Black driver Bubba Wallace a few weeks earlier. Hosting a large crowd of spectators amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the event managed to gain the appreciation of fans. And Chase Elliott, the sport's most popular driver took home the grand title and his first NASCAR All-Star Race win at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
The 24-year-old American stock car racing driver managed to hold off reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch in the closing laps with his No.9 Chevrolet Camaro, which led 60 of the 140 laps on the non-points event. The race was divided into four stages.
While Busch stood second, only .418 seconds behind, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin completed the first five spots in the same order. Elliott also won the $1 million prize. What makes his win further interesting is the fact that he and his father Bill Elliott are the second father-son duo to win the All-Star Race, after Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bill Elliott won the titles in 1986 during ‘The Winston All-Star Race’.
After tonight’s win Elliott said, “That’s super cool. Anytime you can join [the Earnhardts] in anything racing is very special, so to join Dad in winning this event, heck, that’s not just special. That’s a lot of years and a lot of history for everything to come full circle, like that’s pretty dang cool.” according to USA Today Sports.
Fans quickly took to Twitter to congratulate Elliott on his big win. “What a race by @chaseelliott ! Can’t believe I leave my first race ever with my favorite driver taking the checkered flag!” wrote one. “Congrats to my favorite driver Chase Elliot for winning the all star race and million dollars! Way to go Chase!” added another. “My first #AllStarRace ever and my boy won! @chaseelliott congratulations million dollar man & thank you for a great show. First time I got to see you win. Amazing experience. Thank you for a badass race man!” added another excited fan.
One Twitter user said that the latest All-Star race was the best they’ve “ever seen from Bristol”. Another fan tweeted from the venue, “Cya Bristol! Good Times were had. Hopefully I can come back for the FC500! #AllStarRace #nascar”
Another fan reviewed the overall event as, ”I liked the lights but feel the amber should have been green to differentiate from the red. The red & the amber/orange were to alike. Paint schemes/Numbers were fine but I prefer the number ON the door. I Loved the #AllStarRace race tonight & the Open was exciting as well.”