After a heartbreaking defeat just days earlier, Chase Elliott rebounded like a true champion. The gut-wrenching losses were starting to pile up for the NASCAR star, but on Thursday night, Elliott grabbed his first Cup win of the season.
Elliott captured the rain-delayed event at Charlotte Motor Speedway which gave him an important victory and gave Hooters fans free wings, but more importantly, it showed that Elliot is all heart.
Every time Elliott wins a race, Hooters, one of his sponsors, offers free wings to everyone. A top-ten finish means free fried pickles. While the pickles were doled out multiple times already this year, this is the first time the wings are on the arm. While that is welcomed news for Hooters fans, the W for #9 is even more of a treat.
Elliott experienced two frustrating losses recently, including Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600 when a caution went into effect just two laps before the finish. Elliott had the race. It was taken from him. The caution was caused by his own teammate. Elliott then pitted from the lead and just couldn’t recover in the two-lap overtime free for all.
Last week, at Darlington, Elliott was unceremoniously wrecked by Kyle Busch. Elliott made sure to let Busch know what he thought of that move by extending a middle finger at Busch, on live TV for the world to see. That bird flip went viral.
This time around, there would be no controversial finish and no hand gestures either. Instead, it was a clean, solid win for the popular driver. Elliott and his fans needed this one, and they are loving every minute of it. Congratulations poured in on social media after the race.
Thursday night’s contest did not feature the dramatics of the previous two. Elliott and his Chevrolet took control with 27 laps to go and went on to earn the victory.
Denny Hamlin, the man who wound up winning the overtime race earlier in the week, finished second behind Elliott.
While many drivers and fans empathized with Elliott of late, Hamlin was not one of those people. After winning on Sunday, Hamlin gave a curt ‘no’ when asked if he felt sorry for Elliott.
Thursday night, Elliott showed the world no one has to feel sorry for him. He’s doing just fine.
Follow Kevin Scholla on Twitter @kevinscholla