Dawsonville based driver Chase Elliott finished the Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in 8th place, defending his 3rd place position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. 

Elliott locked in his pole position spot for the Atlanta race after winning his qualifying races, and even though he led for the first 26 laps of the race, Elliott was never able to get back into first place, finishing stage 1 in 6th place and stage 2 in 5th place. 

The results from this race keeps Elliott 3rd in the overall standings, but also gains him ground on 2nd place driver Joey Logano, who is now only eight points ahead. 

On Saturday, Elliott also raced in the Gardner RV and Outdoor Truck track. Elliott and fellow Nascar Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch were both front runners for the majority of the race. 

Elliott was in 3rd place when a push for first late in the race caused him to spin out, dropping Elliott to 20th place by the end of the race. 

NASCAR races will be back for midweek action this week, when Elliott and fellow drivers compete in the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Va., on Wednesday, June 10 at 7 p.m.