If you don’t believe lightning can strike the same place twice, ask Chase Elliott his thoughts on the subject. In the first race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 a blown engine in practice forced him to start from the back of the pack in the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway and a broken axle caused him to finish there as well. After swapping out the engine, the No. 9 Mountain Dew Chevy appeared to be one of the fastest cars on the track. Elliott qualified second overall, although he started in thirty-second due to the mechanical failure. He worked his way into the top-10 in the first thirty laps of the 500-lap race finishing eighth in the first stage and starting stage two in the top-5.