Elliott holds off Stenhouse Jr. for victory

Chase Elliott picked up his first win of the NASCAR season at Dover Motor Speedway on Monday, staying ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 2.6 seconds at the finish.

Elliott took the lead with around 50 laps remaining in the race that was postponed a day due to Sunday rain at the track in Dover, Del.

Elliott, who was leading in points prior to the race, picked up his first victory at an oval since he won the Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway in 2020.

“We’ve had some tough races over the last, I don’t know, four or five months and it was great to get NAPA back in Victory Lane,” Elliott said on FS1. “Great to get Hendrick Motorsports back to Victory Lane.”

Stenhouse finished in second place and twotime 2022 race winner Ross Chastain finished in third after tangling with Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap. Chastain moved up the track with Truex behind him and Truex spun to the inside for a 12th place finish.

“Racing hard,” Chastain told reporters about the final lap. “I crowded him up and should’ve left him more of a lane.”

Chase Elliott and team snap oval win drought — While Chastain has been a multitime race winner this year, the victory at Dover was a first for the series points leader. Now all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won a race this season, combining for five wins in 11 races.

Elliott won two road course races last season, but has long been seeking a win at an oval. His best finish at an oval this season prior to Monday was sixth at Atlanta, considered a hometown track for the driver from Dawsonville, Georgia.

The Dawsonville Pool Room restaurant, where Elliott and his NASCAR Hall of Fame father Bill Elliott frequent, blared their siren (pronounced si-reen) on Monday afternoon to signal the Elliott victory.

“Just so proud.” Elliott said after the race. “This one means a lot in a lot of different ways…Like I told (the crew) 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.”

Day 2 at Dover full of cautions, mix of leaders — There were 13 cautions for 75 laps, including seven cautions for incidents, at a track that typically hasn’t produced many yellow flags in recent years. The tire falloff was also a factor as multiple teams managed worn tires and called for early pit stops throughout the race for fresh tires.

There were also 10 different leaders from a mix of teams, which made for an interesting event.

Denny Hamlin won the first stage, then suffered from a loose tire after pitting, losing his track position. He was later hit by Cody Ware’s spinning car, and finished the race 21st with a car that looked dominant on Sunday prior to the delay.

Ryan Blaney won the second stage, with Kyle Busch finishing that stage in second. Busch led a race-high 103 laps on his 37th birthday.

The next Cup Series race is Sunday, May 8 at Darlington Raceway on FS1.