Chase Elliott has spoken publicly about a controversial pit strategy decision during the Dover race that cost him a potential victory, confirming he accepted responsibility for the outcome while acknowledging the difficulty of judging such calls in hindsight.
Elliott, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, was leading the race at Dover when his crew chief Alan Gustafson made the call to bring the car into the pits on Lap 340 during a caution period to change two tires. At that stage, Elliott was one of only six cars on the lead lap, having pitted just seven laps earlier.
While Elliott made his way to pit road, Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing opted to stay out on older tires. That decision ultimately paid off for Hamlin, who went on to win the race. Elliott finished sixth despite having led 238 laps earlier in the event.
Reflecting on the decision, Elliott acknowledged it was easy to view the late pit stop as a mistake in retrospect. However, he offered a hypothetical scenario to illustrate the complexity of the situation, suggesting that if Hamlin had chosen to pit instead, it would have likely triggered a chain reaction among other competitors.
“If the situation was reversed with Hamlin deciding to make a pitstop, it would’ve caused chaos within HMS,” Elliott said. “Chase Elliot might’ve followed his rival into pit road in such a scenario.”
He continued, “Easy to look back on that and realize you made a mistake. But look, [if] we don’t come down pit road and the 11 [Hamlin] comes down pit road, then everybody’s fussing about that because the rest of them were going to pit.”
Elliott emphasized that the outcome was ultimately a matter of bad luck for him and his team, crediting Hamlin’s strategy as the deciding factor. “It was just bad luck for Elliot and his crew as Hamlin’s decision to stay out paid off,” he stated.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver affirmed that while hindsight makes criticism easy, he does not dwell on the decision as a failure, instead accepting it as part of the unpredictable nature of racing strategy.