Chase Elliott was in position for back-to-back NASCAR Cup victories at Road America, but then he faltered late in the Kwik Trip 250

Just after Tyler Reddick held off Chase Elliott to earn his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in the Kwik Trip 250 on Sunday at historic Road America in Elkhart Lake, Elliott steered his No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro alongside Reddick's No. 8 to offer his congratulations.

One of the masters of road-coarse racing, Elliott knows when to tip his NAPA Auto Parts hat.

"I know he's been super close to that first win, and I've been down that road and it can be a rocky one," Elliott said. "I'm happy for those guys. They deserve it."

Elliott missed out on the chance to become the first repeat winner at Road America in NASCAR history. The 2020 champion and current points leader has collected seven victories on road courses in his Cup career.

Winning last year at Road America certainly gave the 26-year-old some know-how about the track, and Elliott also claimed the pole for the race.

He led for 36 laps in a relatively drama-free race, and it was apparent that the final stage would be a battle between Elliott and Reddick.

"Tyler and Chase were really good throughout the duration of the run," third-place finisher Kyle Larson said. "I seemed to be OK early and then would to slowly fade away from them.

"I felt honestly pretty good but they must just have better grip. And they're really good road racers. Honestly, probably a little bit better than I am."

The race got away from Elliott not long after both he and Reddick made pit stops with 19 laps remaining. Reddick slipped inside of Elliott with 16 laps to go and pulled ahead on Turn 6.

Elliott stayed close, but didn't have enough to make a final push.

"I didn't do a very good job there," Elliott said. "I just let him stay close enough to pressure me there while we had decent tires and never could get enough of a gap. Made a couple mistakes. I was gaining a gap there a couple times and made a couple mistakes and let him get back close enough to get me out of sync, and then after that just started struggling.

"Obviously it was super difficult to get to somebody to pass them. It was impressive he was able to get up there and capitalize on my mistakes. Happy for those guys. Appreciate the effort out of our team. Wish I could have done a better job there. I felt like we probably needed a little bit, but I think we were good enough to win, so those always hurt."

Elliott remains No. 1 in the playoff standings through 18 races, even as he's still learning how to handle NASCAR's Next Gen Cup car that features independent rear suspension, single lug nut and limited adjustability.

"These cars are very aero sensitive and even more so nowadays, even more than last year's car," Elliott said. "And as the season goes on and everybody's car has become more of the same as we learn what everybody needs in their vehicles, every car is going to become the same manufacturer to manufacturer.

"And as that becomes the case, track position is going to become more and more of a premium. That's just motorsports nowadays. Aero is huge, and you can't unlearn, so that's the road we're on."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Defending champion Chase Elliott second to Reddick at Road America