NASCAR Barometer: Elliott Scores First Chevrolet Win of 2019

Chevrolet drivers teamed up early and often in Sunday's GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The lineup at the bottom of the track kept the Ford and Toyota contingent behind when it was working at its best, and Chase Elliott was the one who found himself at the front for much of the show. He opened his account in the second segment with his first stage win of the season and then pushed his way to the front on the final restart with teammate Alex Bowman and other Chevrolet drivers in tow to grab this season's first win for the manufacturer. It was an admirable performance from the bowtie brigade as they pulled off the teamwork necessary to thwart the dominance of Ford and Toyota early this season.

Next up is Dover International Speedway, a high-banked concrete oval that punishes mistakes and rewards teams that hit the setup right early in the weekend. Elliott is the most recent winner at the track with his fall win last season, but Kevin Harvick will be this week's defending race winner. While Harvick still searches to find his footing in 2019, it may be time for Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates to pull as far ahead as possible. They will still have to overcome the Joe Gibbs and Penske Racing teams who continue to show they have the might to dominate every weekend, though.

UPGRADE

Chase Elliott – Elliott led a train of Chevrolet cars to victory in the second stage on Sunday, his first stage win of the season and then backed it up with help from teammate Alex Bowman to take the first race win for Chevrolet this season. Elliott was 10th in the standings prior to Sunday's race but now has a win in his pocket as he focuses on the playoffs. His recent uptick in performance is coming at the perfect time, too. He won last fall at Dover and will be hoping to visit Victory Lane in back-to-back visits. His average finish at the track is an impressive 4.3 from six starts in the Cup series. He is definitely a driver to watch this week.

Alex Bowman – Bowman snagged his best finish with a runner-up finish behind teammate Elliott Sunday afternoon. Prior to that result his best so far this season was 11th, which he did twice at Daytona and Las Vegas. More finishes like Sunday's will help as he tries to work his way into playoff contention. Hendrick Motorsports began their ascension prior to the off week and then came together with the other Chevrolet teams to force their way to the front at Talladega. Fantasy players should temper their expectations of a repeat again this week, though. While Bowman may be in store for a better-than-average outing this week, we should remember that his best Dover finish in the Cup series is only 20th.

Ty Dillon – Dillon picked up the second stage win of his career Sunday at Talladega. His first stage victory only came a few weeks ago, too. After the early triumph he then went on to run inside the top 10 through the second segment but slipped back in the final restarts to finish 15th. That was his second top-15 in the last three races and his fifth of the season so far. His best finish from five starts at Dover was 14th in 2017's spring race. He was 22nd in the standings ahead of Talladega with one top-10 coming from the Daytona 500. More top-15 finishes will help to get him among the playoff contenders as the season wears on, though.

Daniel Hemric – Fantasy players paying attention to Richard Childress Racing and Daniel Hemric will know the rookie has shown promise and could be a driver of the future in the series. His talent and luck all combined on Sunday to earn him his best finish of the season. He was one of the Chevrolet contingent to work together throughout the 500 miles at Talladega, and his efforts converted his fifth-place start into a fourth-place finish. That was his best finish of the season after he picked up three top-20 finishes prior to the off week. His average finish from four Xfinity starts at the track is an impressive 6.8, but fantasy owners would be wise to not expect much more than a top-20 in his first Cup series visit.

DOWNGRADE

Darrell Wallace Jr. – Bubba hasn't appeared to have much pace yet this season, but Sunday's Talladega race should have given him a chance. Instead, he was one of the first cars out after losing control while getting a run on Ryan Blaney. His spin collected a few cars, and Wallace was out despite running inside the top 10 early. Wallace has an average start of 27.5 and finish of 24.0 from his two career starts at Dover. This team and driver have taken a step backward from where they were last season. While Wallace was competitive early on Sunday, it was only for a short period and it remains to be seen whether they will fix their problems in the off week.

Kevin Harvick – Harvick's 2019 season woes continued Sunday at Talladega with an early exit. The former champion is expected to dominate just about every week but has simply not been competitive enough yet this season. He was one of the innocent bystanders in Wallace's crash in the first segment after being clouted by teammate Clint Bowyer. This team should be expected to find their way soon enough, and Talladega may not have been the best measure to gauge their progress. While fantasy players should remain wary until results begin to show, Dover should be a better barometer of the team's progress. Harvick is the defending race winner this week with an average finish of 14.2 from 36 career starts at the track.

Jimmie Johnson – A blown tire thwarted Johnson's afternoon Sunday after he avoided the opening wreck. The failure sent him careening into the outside wall shortly after the restart, putting an end to his chances at Talladega. Things had been looking up for the No. 48 and the rest of Hendrick Motorsports prior to Sunday, but more progress needs to come before fantasy owners begin relying on him again. Dover could be the best measure of his competitiveness, however. He is a master at this circuit with 11 career victories. He finished ninth in this race last season, too. While Johnson may not be the top choice for rosters this week, he is definitely a driver on whom keep an eye.

Clint Bowyer – Bowyer was one of the unlucky drivers eliminated early from contention for Sunday's win. Ultimately, he collided with teammate Harvick as part of the first multicar crash of the afternoon to ruin both drivers' days. Bowyer had qualified quite well in third position but ultimately brought his run of four consecutive top-10 finishes to a close with the crash. Instead, he now needs to get off the mark strongly at Dover. He was runner up there last season after leading 40 laps, but crashed out in the fall race after starting fifth. Bowyer is hit or miss at Dover, and his performance next week will tell much about his resiliency after a tough end to the GEICO 500.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Ryan Preece – Preece grabbed his best finish of the season with third place on Sunday. He was one of the Chevrolet drivers who worked as a team to get in line and hold off the rest of the competition at the front of the field. His previous best finish was eighth in the Daytona 500. Results like that will make fantasy owners want to be sure they have him in mind when the series returns to Daytona later this season. This week's race should be expected to be more of a challenge for him, however. His best Xfinity series finish at the Northeastern concrete oval was fourth in 2018. His best finish not on a superspeedway in the Cup series this season was 16th at Martinsville.