Chase Elliott pulled ahead during an overtime scramble to win the Ganders Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway and clinch advancement in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
The victory was the second NASCAR Cup Series win of Elliott’s career, both of which have come this season.
Elliott Moves on to Round of Eight
The victory was critical for Elliott, who came into the race as one of the four playoff drivers that sat below the cut line for the Round of Eight. But he’ll no longer have to worry about his point total, as winning gives him an automatic spot in the next round and puts him one step closer to appearing in the Championship Four.
“We get to move on to the next round, and I don’t have to worry about Talladega next week,” Elliott said after the race. “It’s just a hell of a day.”
Elliott didn’t look like a likely winner earlier in the day. During a yellow-flag pit stop on Lap 123, he was penalized for an uncontrolled tire.
But two restarts in the final eight laps set up an overtime session where Elliott was able to pull away from Denny Hamlin at the front of the pack. Despite being on older tiers, he cleared Hamlin’s car on the first two turns and earned the win by .265 seconds.
The result offered a bit of redemption for Elliott, who had two confrontations with Hamlin last season. First, Hamlin spun out Elliott late in a race at Martinsville, with Elliott retaliating by driving into Hamlin after the race. Elliott caused another wreck with Hamlin later in the season at Phoenix.
After the race, however, Elliott said beating Hamlin wasn’t about getting revenge or holding a grudge.
“I feel like we’ve race with each other a lot since last fall, but I haven’t really had an issue with him since then,” he said. “I can’t say that I singled him out there.”
Almirola, Harvick Miss Opportunities to Win
Other playoff drivers didn’t fare quite as well on Sunday.
Aric Almirola had a large lead, but saw it evaporate after a caution. He ended up finishing in a disappointing 13th place after clipping the outside wall and causing a multi-car collision. Almirola currently stands in ninth place in the playoff standings, 10 points back of Ryan Blaney for the last spot in the Round of Eight.
Kevin Harvick also has to feel disappointed by his sixth place finish after leading 286 of the race’s 404 laps. After winning the first two stages, Harvick was forced to take an extra pit stop after a loose lug nut knocked the valve stem off of one of his tires. While he still appeared to have the best car in the field, he didn’t have enough time to work his way back to the lead.
Despite not getting the win, Harvick remains the playoff points leader, five points ahead of Kyle Busch, who finished eighth at Dover.
Two more races remain in the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. After heading to Talladega on Sunday and Kansas Speedway the following week, the top eight drivers will remain in contention for a NASCAR championship.