After finishing third in the Toyota/Save Mart 350, Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott secured his 20th consecutive top 20 in the 20th race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, in what’s been a year of remarkable consistency for the No. 9 team.
The last time Elliott finished outside of the top 20 was the 2024 Las Vegas fall race when issues with his car’s suspension resulted in a 33rd-place finish. Elliott’s strong, consistent performances, which include a win at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta), seven top fives, 11 top 10s and an average finish of 10.2, only have him 14 points behind teammate William Byron for the Regular Season Championship with six races to go until the postseason.
RELATED: Sonoma race results | Cup Series standings
Elliott ranked in the top six in all five categories tracked by NASCAR Insights from Wine Country. After starting 13th, it was no surprise the 2020 Cup Series champion soared toward the front, placing second in Passer Rating behind race winner Shane van Gisbergen. The Hendrick driver also ranked third in Defense Rating, sixth in Speed Rating, third in Restart rating and fourth in Pit Crew rating.
When the caution came out with 14 laps remaining at Sonoma, due to Cody Ware losing a right-rear tire, crew chief Alan Gustafson decided to gamble and call Elliott down pit road for fresh tires. With van Gisbergen being the class of the field and staying out to maintain track position, the No. 9 team thought it was best to try something different and see if new Goodyear rubber could make a difference.
Elliott entered the pits from third place and restarted in 14th with 11 laps to go. However, his progress was slowed after two late-race cautions for incidents involving Noah Gragson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
With two laps remaining in the 110-lap road-course race in Northern California, Elliott made his way back up to third and tried to track down Chase Briscoe in the runner-up spot. Unfortunately for the No. 9 Chevrolet driver, he dropped the left side tires off course, causing a loss of momentum and was forced to settle for third.
Still, the gamble was worth it since Elliott did not lose or gain any on-track positions in the end, as NASCAR Insights numbers showed the No. 9 team had every reason to bet on themselves against SVG, with no weaknesses making an appearance on the West Coast.
Other notables from last weekend’s race:
- Shane van Gisbergen’s first-place ranking in Passing Rating, Speed Rating and Restart Rating allowed the driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to score a dominant Sonoma victory with ease, despite a few late-race restarts.
- Alex Bowman’s first-place ranking in Defense Rating indicated he was good enough to maintain a top-20 finish, but he could not keep his In-Season Challenge hopes alive, as Ty Dillon moved the No. 48 Chevrolet out of the way on the last lap to advance to the next round at Dover and eliminate Bowman.
- Joey Logano’s sixth-place ranking in Passing Rating helped him climb from 22nd to ninth, securing his fifth top 10 of the 2025 Cup Series season.
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