Chase Elliott owes Erik Jones a couple of beers after what the Petty GMS driver did for him this past weekend at Talladgea Superspeedway.
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With two laps to go in the YellaWood 500, Elliott cut to the outside line of the pack, and thanks to a push from Jones, got alongside race leader Ryan Blaney and stayed there until he pulled ahead to win by a car length. It was a perfect case of one Chevrolet driver helping out another, and as you can see from Jones' in-car camera, it got Elliott right where he needed to be to secure the playoff victory.
In a post-race interview, Elliott mentioned the assist from Jones and talked about the important of capitalizing on similar "opportunities" if he hopes to win his second championship for Hendrick Motorsports.
"It gets you through to the next one, and that's all you can ask for is to just have more opportunities," Elliott said. "And that's all you can ask for is just to have more opportunities, and that's really what this is about. We're excited for these final handful of events, and hopefully we can make it out to Phoenix and give 'em a run."
As for Jones, his sixth-place finish wasn't the outcome he was hoping for, but he's already thinking ahead to next weekend's race at the Charlotte Roval and staying positive about his team's improved performance throughout the year.
"We had a good day today at Talladega," Jones said after the race. "Our Chevy was fast all weekend. We were able to push and be pushed when needed and stay up front most of the race. I thought we had a good shot at the win and put ourselves in the right position on the final restart but unfortunately, the guys behind us had some issues and we didn't get the push we needed on the final restart. Frustrating ending for sure, but we'll take it and move on."
"I'm proud of the progress this 43 team and everyone at Petty GMS has made this season. It's fun to drive cars like this and have a shot at the win."
