DOVER, Del.
Chase Elliott rubbed his head and leaned against his car, crestfallen as he replayed the final laps in his mind. Jimmie Johnson, his champion teammate, walked over to offer some encouragement and let Elliott vent.
Elliott had it, the first win in 70 career Cup starts in his sight, the white flag about to drop.
But the son of a NASCAR Hall of Fame driver simply could not find his way out of a thicket of traffic and Kyle Busch was ready to pounce. Busch spoiled Elliott’s bid at his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory, taking the lead with two laps left to win Sunday at Dover International Speedway.
Elliott, largely expected to lead NASCAR’s next generation of stars, was in stunned disbelief that he let the lead slip away.
Busch, the 2015 Cup champion, went high on the concrete track and zipped past Elliott to win for the second straight week. He won for the fourth time in the No. 18 Toyota and is streaking at the right time as NASCAR’s playoffs head into the second round.
He injected a ho-hum race with a thrilling finish and perhaps the best two closing laps of the season. Busch is 24 points behind fellow Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. for the points lead and was already safely in the field of 12.
Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Daytona 500 champion Kurt Busch and Brickyard 400 winner Kasey Kahne were eliminated as the playoff field was cut from 16 drivers.
Elliott was second, followed by Johnson, Truex and Kyle Larson.
Elliott followed in some superstar footsteps when he made his Cup debut in 2015. Bill Elliott was a two-time Daytona 500 champion and was named NASCAR’s most popular driver a record 16 times. Chase Elliott also took over the No. 24 Chevrolet when four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon retired.
About the only one really happy — well, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who clinched the final transfer spot was thrilled — was Busch. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver followed last week’s win at New Hampshire with his 42nd career Cup victory.
YOU’RE IN — Truex, Larson, Busch, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Johnson, Ryan Blaney, Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray and Stenhouse are all in the second round.
“The feeling is lucky really,” Stenhouse said.
UP NEXT — The first race of the second playoff round takes place at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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