On a hot day at Dover Motor Speedway (aka the Monster Mile) with no practice or qualifying, teams had no chance to get a feel for their cars before the race. That put the spotlight on pit road, where quick decisions and adjustments were critical.
Earlier in the week, Ryan “Skip” Flores, front tire changer for the No. 38 car and co-host of Stacking Pennies, predicted a “dog fight” on pit road and warned that faster stops could lead to trouble. His words were echoed on the TNT broadcast, 14 laps from the finish during a rain delay interview with Christopher Bell.
Flores’ prediction played out, but one thing he didn’t factor in proved crucial: rain. Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team handled every twist, committing to track position and repeatedly choosing to stay out front. That strategy paid off, carrying Hamlin to victory lane.
Track Position Reigns Supreme
Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota ran near the front for much of the race, although he didn’t lead the most laps. That statistic belonged to Chase Elliott, who appeared to have the dominant car throughout the day.
A pivotal moment came on lap 337 when a caution came out for rain. At the time, Christopher Bell was leading and hadn’t pitted in 74 laps, while Austin Dillon, running second, was on 76-lap-old tires. Elliott and Hamlin were in third and fourth, each having pitted just nine laps earlier. When the caution flew, the three cars ahead of Hamlin all came to pit road, while Hamlin stayed out. That move gave him the lead and put him in position to contend for the win.
As the field was expecting rain, Hamlin held the lead with 17 laps to go when Ross Chastain hit the wall and brought out a caution. Over the radio, Hamlin said, “I don’t know what to do other than stay out.” A red flag for rain followed shortly after.
When the race resumed, Hamlin stayed out and battled Christopher Bell for the lead. Bell got loose and hit the wall, bringing out another caution that sent the race into overtime. On the next restart, Hamlin took the lead again, but a caution for Zane Smith in the No. 38 brought out another yellow and pushed the race to double overtime.
In the final restart, Hamlin lined up next to Chase Briscoe, who was on fresh tires. Despite that, Hamlin held him off and drove to victory lane.
Denny’s decision to stay out rather than pit for tires proved to be the winning move.
It’s Not All Sunshine and Rainbows All the Time
After winning stage one, Chase Elliott in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 looked like the car to beat. But his chances took a hit on lap 186 during a green flag pit stop when the car slipped off the jack, slowing the stop and dropping him to fifth once the field cycled through. During the rain delay, Elliott reflected on the setback in an interview on the TNT broadcast, saying, “it’s not all sunshine and rainbows all the time.”
The No. 9 Hendrick crew had a shot at redemption on a pit stop nearly 40 laps later, and the team came up clutch, completing a sub 8.5 second stop, putting Elliott back in contention.
The final call for the No. 9 crew came on lap 337, when Elliott chose to take two tires to even out the tire advantages held by other cars, while Denny Hamlin stayed out. The decision led to a sixth-place finish for Elliott, a result the team is likely not celebrating given their strong chance to win.
Pit Road Police
- Eight drivers were caught speeding on pit road: Todd Gilliland in stage one, Erik Jones on lap 128, Carson Hocevar on lap 212, Joey Logano on lap 332, Josh Berry on lap 334, and Christopher Bell and Zane Smith in overtime. JJ Yeley, who was penalized three times for speeding, was also flagged for pitting before pit road was open. It was a rough day on pit road for the No. 44 team.
- Carson Hocevar received a penalty in stage two when his gas can left the pit box. To make matters worse, he got into the wall shortly after and had to go to the garage for repairs.
Look Ahead to Next Week
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indiana next Sunday, July 27, for the championship round of the in-season tournament with the running of the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Last year’s Brickyard 400 came down to fuel mileage. Brad Keselowski ran out of gas on the first overtime restart, opening the door for Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney to battle for the win. Larson ultimately prevailed in double overtime
