NASCAR: Elliott stars before fuel mileage reigns at Pocono

Chase Elliott seemingly had the car to beat if the Axalta 400 on Monday came down to speed and track position, but Pocono Raceway rarely produces that kind of finish.

In pursuit of his first victory in the Sprint Cup Series, Elliott led a race-high 51 laps but a late caution shuffled the field and turned the rain-postponed event into a fuel mileage affair. A caution with 44 laps to go and the resulting pit stops trapped Elliott behind several cars that took less tires or whom stayed out altogether.

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By time the various strategies played themselves out, Elliott was stuck behind a fuel mileage gambling Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Elliott spent most of the final stint behind them and eventually finished fourth when Brad Keselowski also got around him with 10 laps to go.

"I'm just really proud of the car we had today," Elliott said after the race. "We had a car that could compete for the lead all day. There were definitely times that we were better than others. I just wish once we had taken a couple of those green flags after the caution, that we could have gotten going and ran some laps.

"But that's not how the day unfolded, so we will take it and move on. I've just go to try to be aware of the mistakes I made having a chance there at the end and not getting it done."

Specifically, Elliott wishes he had taken the lead off the pivotal restart. Instead, he battled teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., forcing both to watch as Kurt Busch bolted with the top spot and the clean air that comes with it.

Ultimately, that is where the race was won and lost.

"I feel like we had a car that could do it today," Elliott said. "I wish I had been just a little more patient behind Dale. I felt like I made a big mistake there in the Tunnel (turn) and it gave Kurt a big run. Biggest thing is just learn and just be really proud that we had a super-fast car, a car that could lead all day and a group of guys that are willing to fight to try to get to Victory Lane."

Elliott remains seventh on the Chase Grid and nearly two full races ahead of the playoff cutoff. In fact his fast start has placed him alongside some pretty elite company: Elliott's 10 top-10s through 14 starts match Jimmie Johnson for the best such result by a rookie in the modern era of Sprint Cup history. His five top-5s also match Johnson, Dale Earnhardt and Shorty Rollins for the most such finishes through 14 starts by a rookie as well.