Asterisk Mark Report – Charlotte
Chase Elliott – I wouldn’t argue with anyone who said Chase Elliott had the best car last year at Charlotte. Thru the first half of the race, the #9 was the class of the field. Unfortunately, Elliott had a short race and finished an asterisk mark 33rd. In the race, Elliott won Stage #1, led 86 laps but then in Stage #2 on lap 186 while doing a slide job on Suarez for 2nd he got into the wall which damaged the #9 which marked the end of his race, since his team didn’t beat the clock for the “Damaged Vehicle Policy.” In terms of speed stats, Elliott had the best Total Speed Ranking and the best Green Flag Speed.
Kyle Larson – Last year at Charlotte, Kyle Larson had what he called the “Worst Race Of His Life”, but he likely would’ve won if Chase Briscoe didn’t have a “Failed Hail Mary” which brought out a caution in which he was caught up in the carnage which led to his 9th. In the race, Larson started in the back, got two pit penalties and even had a spin. In the race, Larson led 50 laps and was the leader at the 600-mile mark.
Ross Chastain – Ross Chastain was a top five contender/factor to win last year at Charlotte but he finished an asterisk mark 15th. In the race, Chastain finished 4th in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2, won Stage #3, had a race best 4.4 average running position, led a race high 153 laps and was running in 3rd on lap 391 before late “Mega Mayhem” ensued in which he was caught up in the carnage.
William Byron – William Byron was a top ten contender last year but like many, he crashed and finished an asterisk mark 32nd. On lap 183 he was running in 8th, but then shortly after that he was caught up in a “Big One” which marked the end of his race. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Byron ranked 5th.
