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AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway: Takeaways and observations

By Ted Fleming

Oct 9, 2016; Concord, NC, USA; The car of Sprint Cup Series driver Austin Dillon (3) is towed into the garage after a wreck during the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2016; Concord, NC, USA; The car of Sprint Cup Series driver Austin Dillon (3) is towed into the garage after a wreck during the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Has Chase Elliott locked up Rookie of the Year?

After a solid fourth place finish, Chase Elliott extended his lead in the Rookie of the Year points standings ahead of Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford), Chris Buescher (Front Row Motorsports NO. 34 Ford), Brian Scott (Richard Petty Motorsports No. 44 Ford) and Jeffrey Earnhardt.

Taking over for Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 Chevy SS, Elliott has not let the pressure of replacing a legend get to him by not only making the Chase in his first Sprint Cup season, he made it into the second round before being eliminated.

Elliott does not get enough credit for the job he has done this year. The son of another legend, “Awesome” Bill Elliott, there was much expected from Chase and he has more than held up his end and to show his grit, he fought through flu-like symptoms on one of NASCAR’s longest days at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday to wait out a near six hour weather delay to run the full 501 miles in the AAA Texas 500 with Justin Allgaier waiting in the wings if he couldn’t make it.

While the soon to be 21-year old (Nov. 28) did not find his way into the winner’s circle this year, he has ten top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes to go with a pair of poles.

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