NASCAR: Chase Elliott claims Dover victory

Chase Elliott registered a next-day victory Monday at Dover Motor Speedway, securing his first win of the NASCAR Cup Series season.

Elliott led 73 of the 400 laps in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. His triumph in the rain-delayed DuraMAX Drydene 400 was his second at the 1-mile Delaware track and the 14th of his Cup Series career.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. placed a season-best second in the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet. Ross Chastain took third, with Christopher Bell fourth and Alex Bowman completing the top five.

The race ended under caution after Martin Truex Jr. spun out in a last-lap contest for third place with Chastain. Instead of a likely top-five result, Truex took 12th.

Denny Hamlin had a roundabout day, leading 67 laps early and winning the opening stage. His day went south when his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota lost a wheel after his Stage 1 pit stop. Hamlin started Stage 2 in 29th place and had rallied to fourth when he was caught up in Cody Ware’s spin on Lap 240. He continued after repairs to his car’s right-side damage and finished 21st, one lap down.

Defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson recovered from a Stage 2 spin to finish sixth in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. After Elliott’s win, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are in the win column for the 2022 season.

The race began Sunday, and the field ran 78 laps before persistent afternoon rain forced the race to a Monday finish.

The win is Elliott’s first NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) win of the 2022 season; and his 14th-career victory in 232 starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

Elliott’s victory also marks the 285th NASCAR Cup Series triumph for car owner Rick Hendrick, extending the team’s record as the winningest team in NCS history.

The victory secures Elliott’s spot into the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field, making him the fifth Chevrolet driver to lock-in their Playoff spot thus far this season.

With 11 points-paying races in the books for the NASCAR Cup Series, Elliott is now the ninth different winner.

Elliott’s triumph is also the seventh of the season for the Camaro ZL1, and the 43rd victory for Team Chevy at Dover Motor Speedway, extending its lead over all manufacturers.

Quotes – Top 3

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner

CHASE ELLIOTT GETS IT DONE TODAY. I TALKED TO ALAN GUSTAFSON THIS MORNING AND HE SAID, ‘WE WEREN’T VERY GOOD YESTERDAY’. WHAT DID YOU TWO PUT TOGETHER TO BE SO DOMINANT?

“Had some good circumstances finally. Really appreciate Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and our entire team No. 9 Chevrolet team for just sticking with it. We’ve had some tough races over the last, I don’t know, four, five months. Just great to get NAPA back to Victory Lane; great to get Hendrick Motorsports back to Victory Lane.

Just so proud. This one means a lot in a lot of different ways. Just appreciate all the effort. But thanks to all the fans for coming out. You’re always awesome. Hope to see this big crowd here next year. Just a huge thanks to everybody involved. It’s been a fun day and we’re certainly going to enjoy.

Like I told them after the race – those guys, they’ve been deserving of one for a while. Glad we could get across the line first. We’ll enjoy it for a few days and go to work next week.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / THE FROZEN FARMER CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 2nd

“Our team has been putting together really good racecars. A lot of our good races we’ve had issues. You know we have been good on some of the bigger tracks. Our short-track program is definitely off a little bit, but you know it was an awesome day to get The Frozen Farmer, you know it’s the first time on the car. They are from 40 minutes down the road. Their whole family is here, and we’ve had a good weekend with them.

It was good to have a good run with them and really for our whole shop. We feel like we’ve been better than where we are right now as a race team. We’ve put a lot of fast racecars together, just haven’t had much to show for it. Really happy with this performance today. It was a tough battle out there. The track was tough. The cars were tough to drive. Our car was dialed in and our pit crew did a fabulous job on pit road. Just came up one spot short.”

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 PITBULL TOUR 2022 CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 3rd

YOU COULD NOT SHAKE THE NO. 19 (MARTIN TRUEX JR.) WHAT DID YOU SAY TO EACH OTHER THERE?

“We were talking about where we were going to go fishing next week. No, super proud of this effort. I thought we were a fifth-place car. A couple guys had misfortune with the cautions coming out. That cycled us to the lead.

Pit crew was incredible today. They were just picking up spots every stop, got us the lead. I’m racing with champions and I got beat.”

Race Results