Want to win money easily? Just bet on Chase Elliott winning on a road course.
Elliott dominated the final stage of Sunday’s Jockey Made in America 250 to win his second straight road race and seventh of his career, and become the first NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Road America since Tim Flock in 1956 (then the lone instance of Cup racing at the Wisconsin circuit).
Hendrick Motorsports team-mates William Byron and Kyle Larson qualified on the front row, while Elliott started thirty-fourth after being unable to set a qualifying lap before time expired, a fate that also befell others like Saturday’s Xfinity Series winner Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe. Busch would have started at the back regardless as he switched to a backup car following a wreck in practice, as did Ryan Preece. Bubba Wallace (transmission change), Justin Haley (engine change), Kyle Tilley, Josh Bilicki, and Quin Houff (all unapproved adjustments) were also ordered to the rear.
Byron led every lap in the opening stage. Daniel Suárez was not as fortunate as a transmission issue caused him to stop on track on lap four, resulting in a caution, before going to the garage. Tilley also produced a yellow flag when he drove into the gravel. By the end of the segment, Byron led A.J. Allmendinger, Larson, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, and Elliott. Allmendinger did not receive stage points as he is running for the Xfinity championship.
Xfinity regular Austin Cindric took the lead to begin the second stage, though his day came to an end early in the final segment due to a gear issue. Matt DiBenedetto led laps before Kyle Busch assumed the position. Busch and many drivers elected to pit before the stage break, allowing Reddick to inherit the lead and stage win. Byron, Ross Chastain, Larson, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Wallace, Haley, and Kyle Busch rounded out the top ten.
DiBenedetto paced the grid to open Stage #3. Elliott took the lead on lap 38 and held the spot until Anthony Alfredo‘s left-rear brake rotor failed and caused him to beach in a gravel trap. The restart came on lap 46 with Elliott leading, and he would develop a considerable margin of over five seconds on Bell en route to his thirteenth career win and seventh on a road course.
Since his win at Watkins Glen in 2019, Elliott has scored six more road race victories in the next nine. His seven RC wins moves him into third on the all-time win list behind Tony Stewart‘s eight and Hendrick executive Jeff Gordon‘s nine. Elliott also secured Hendrick’s seventh win in the last ten races.
“We really kind of struggled yesterday and never got into a good rhythm I didn’t feel like on my end,” said Elliott in his post-race press conference. “I thought we could be a little better with the car. Made a lot of changes overnight, kind of started the day, I thought that I liked it. But I just still wasn’t in a good rhythm. About halfway, I felt like I started to kind of put things together, start minimising some mistakes I’d been making all weekend, then started finding some pace.
“After that, it got fun. I was able to get a flow going, get in rhythm. Then from there we were able to get on, we kind of got caught up from our bad starting spot, got on the same strategy as the leaders. From there, we were able to go to work. Had things going good enough to keep up and get by those guys.
“[…] Our team has a whole has been good at road courses the whole time, too. Kyle (Larson) won at Sonoma. I feel like drivers are only as good as what they have to drive. Fortunately, I feel like I’ve got the best stuff and just got to make it work.”
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 34 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 2 | 13 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 62 | Running |
| 3 | 40 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 62 | Running |
| 4 | 16 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 5 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 62 | Running |
| 6 | 35 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 7 | 8 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 8 | 4 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 9 | 9 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 62 | Running |
| 10 | 7 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 11 | 37 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 12 | 38 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 13 | 20 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 14 | 19 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 15 | 14 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 16 | 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 17 | 15 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 18 | 12 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 19 | 21 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 20 | 17 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 21 | 23 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 22 | 10 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 23 | 27 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 24 | 36 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 62 | Running |
| 25 | 22 | 77 | Justin Haley* | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 26 | 39 | 96 | Ty Dillon* | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 62 | Running |
| 27 | 25 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 28 | 26 | 15 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 29 | 3 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger* | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 30 | 18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 31 | 29 | 51 | Cody Ware* | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 32 | 28 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 62 | Running |
| 33 | 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 34 | 33 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | Running |
| 35 | 30 | 78 | Kyle Tilley | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 60 | Running |
| 36 | 11 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 53 | Running |
| 37 | 24 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 42 | Brakes |
| 38 | 5 | 33 | Austin Cindric* | Team Penske | Ford | 35 | Rear Gear |
| 39 | 31 | 53 | Ryan Eversley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 27 | Rear Gear |
| 40 | 32 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 6 | Engine |
* – Ineligible for Cup points