For the third week in a row, we have got ourselves a first-time race winner in 2025.
Chase Elliott, the seven-time reigning most popular driver, made a dramatic last lap pass to win the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday night (June 28). It is Elliott’s first win of 2025, making him the 12th different winner on the season, as well as the 20th victory of his Cup Series career. Elliott also snapped a 44-race winless streak going back to his victory last season at Texas Motor Speedway.
With no green flag pit cycles and fuel mileage a non-factor, the action — and carnage — on the racetrack played a bigger factor in the outcome than pit strategy. With that said, there were a few notable pit road plotlines emerging from The Peach State.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tyler Reddick, Carson Hocevar Rally on Fresh Tires
A run of five caution across the first 68 laps of the final stage led to a splintering of pit strategy down the stretch. In particular, when the 10th and final caution of the night flew on lap 228 for Justin Haley getting spun out by Ty Dillon, a portion of the field pulled down pit road for four fresh tires.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the race off of pit road, but he would have to bounce back from a penalty for equipment interference that put the driver of the No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet at the rear of the field.
From the final restart with 28 laps left, the drivers who just got fresh tires started carving their way through the field, which was down to just 21 lead lap cars after several wrecks.
With just six laps to go, Stenhouse completed his comeback from the penalty to take the lead, but it was his only lap out front before getting passed by eventual runner-up Brad Keselowski. Keselowski as well as Elliott and several other leaders had about 40-lap older tires than Stenhouse, having pitted back on lap 188.
Of the drivers who pitted for tires under the last caution, Tyler Reddick led the charge with a fourth-place finish in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, a much-needed top-five after settling for 32nd at Pocono Raceway. Stenhouse parlayed his fresh rubber into a sixth-place finish, while Carson Hocevar rounded the top 10 on his fresh tires.
While it did not result in a race win, pitting for four tires late was arguably the right call for all three of these race teams, leading to a likely net gain in finishing position compared to if they had stayed out with everyone else.
Poorly Timed Pit Stops Doom Early Contenders
In formulating pit strategy, when crew chiefs call the drivers down pit road is just as important as what the teams do once the driver parks it in the pit stall.
Early in Saturday night’s race at EchoPark, the timing of pit stops played a big role in flipping the running order on its head. When the first caution came out on lap 43 for a brief rain shower, several cars near the front opted to stay out, including defending race winner Joey Logano, William Byron, and eventual stage one winner Austin Cindric.
After stage one, the drivers who stayed out under the first caution went to the service of their crews for the first time. At first, waiting until the stage end to pit seemed like a great decision by those teams, accruing stage points — and in Cindric’s case, a playoff point — and putting on fresh tires to charge through the field in stage two.
But then on lap 69, the Big One happened.
Denny Hamlin went sideways on the backstretch, and the chain reaction began from there. Over half the field was involved in the crash, including stage one stalwarts Cindric, Logano, and Byron. Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Corey Lajoie, Daniel Suarez and Hamlin also got knocked out of the race on that crash. The timing of their pit stops did not work out for them.
Meanwhile, many of those who pitted under the first caution and stayed out for the stage break got track position that allowed them to stay out front of the carnage.
Pit Road Police
Other than Stenhouse’s penalty under the last caution, here is a summary of notable pit road penalties from the track formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway:
- Before getting caught up in the Big One, Lajoie got tagged for speeding on pit road during the first round of stops on lap 46. On the same pit cycle, David Starr got held a lap by NASCAR officials for pitting a second time for fuel, which he was not allowed to do as the free pass car. Starr finished 29th, while Lajoie was next-to-last in 39th.
- While pitting on lap 188, Reddick drove through too many pit boxes entering the No. 45 team’s stall, which put him at the tail of the field. Ultimately, Reddick rebounded for fourth overall.
- During the final pit stops with 31 laps left, B.J. McLeod got caught speeding on pit road. Despite that penalty, McLeod finished 16th, his best finish since a 19th-place showing at last year’s summer race at Daytona International Speedway.
Look Ahead to Next Week
The drivers of the NASCAR Cup Series will take on a completely different style of racing next Sunday (July 6), heading to The Windy City for the third annual Grant Park 165 on the Chicago street course. Coverage of the 75-lap race begins at 2 p.m. ET on TNT.
Crew chiefs now have two years of data in their notebooks for the Chicago street race, though that information might not be entirely helpful with how much rain the event has experience in its first two renditions. On a street course where it is difficult to pass, qualifying setup will be key, and those who start near the back will look to get creative with pit strategy to gain track position.
Also, keep an eye on the second round matchups in the In-Season Challenge. It will be interesting to see if teams adjust their strategy to take their head-to-head showdowns into account.
Andrew Stoddard joined Frontstretch in May of 2022 as an iRacing contributor. He is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Richmond, and VCU. He works as an athletic communications specialist at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va.