An intense battle between Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing once again took center stage at Dover Motor Speedway. The AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 had plenty of great green flag action. Until weather and a delay made a mess of the final 14 laps of the 400-lap race. Despite having arguably the best car all race, Chase Elliott had some hiccups late in the race that derailed a win, and all but handed Denny Hamlin a golden ticket.
Old Tires Were the Right Call as Denny Hamlin Tames the Monster Mile Again
After not getting any practice or qualifying on Saturday, the teams were forced into a major unknown with new tires being brought for the race. With qualifying being washed out, Elliott and his No. 9 Chevrolet sat on the pole with Chase Briscoe alongside. The race fired off with a bang, as Briscoe slipped past Elliott to lead the first 13 laps. But an impressive drive from Elliott saw him take the lead on Lap 14, and not look back.
The race’s first stage was well over 120 laps, and despite plenty of traffic on the race track, Elliott was finally able to score his first stage win of the season. It didn’t come easily as he had to fight hard to put Daniel Suarez a lap down, with less than 15 to go. The battle allowed Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin to quickly close in on Elliott. Despite the tough fight through traffic, Elliott held on. Following the stage break, he continued to put his foot down on the competition, as the race quickly turned into an HMS vs. JGR battle. Which doesn’t come as much of a surprise given the success of both historically at Dover.
Read More: Daniel Suarez Not Returning To Trackhouse Racing in 2026
Slip-ups can Wreck Your Day in a Hurry
Midway through the second stage, a round of Green flag pit stops saw Elliott slip from control of the race. When his crew came around to change his left side tires, the jack dropped, and it slowed his stop. Elliot not only lost the lead but also fell to fifth. A hard fight or the final run of that stage saw Bell score the stage win, and Elliott had to settle for fourth. It was also at that time that Hamlin started to show exactly what he was made of.
Elliott wasn’t the only driver to have a slip-up that cost him valuable positions during the race. A quick pitstop by the No. 9 team got him back on the front row for the next restart. That’s when Bell had his first issue of the day. He just lost control going into turn three and spun out. Luckily, he didn’t hit anything. It certainly set him back, though.
AROUND GOES BELL ON THE RESTART! pic.twitter.com/JJnw18NkPn
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 20, 2025
The spin allowed Elliott to regain the lead, and it started to look like the day was going to be his.
To Pit or Not to Pit
The final stanza of the race saw plenty of craziness happen. First, you had cars on multiple strategies. Not to mention, rain showed up and flipped the race on its head. Despite Elliott getting out ahead of Denny Hamlin on his green flag pit stop, rain made its first appearance of the day. Bell stayed out to take the lead while it sprinkled, and it changed a lot of things at the front.
Sure, maybe it was reactionary, with only seven cars on the lead lap, but Chase Elliott’s golden opportunity to lead over 200 laps and get another win on the year went away based on a somewhat questionable pit call. He pitted for two tires, while Hamlin stayed out. It certainly became very clear that it was a race that got away from Elliott because of a questionable pit call by his crew chief.
Meanwhile, the strategy from Hamlin ended up being the right move. He held the lead following a restart, and didn’t look back despite plenty of chaos raining down literally. The race came to a dead halt with 14 laps to go, as a bigger rain cell stopped the race for nearly an hour.
Was the Wait Worth it?
NASCAR ultimately made the call to get the race back going, and from their things certainly played out in a way some won’t be happy about. First off, you ended up seeing the final finishing order completely changed. After several pace laps, the field went back to green with seven laps remaining in the race. It also happened to be a good opportunity for Briscoe to throw a wrench at the frontrunners, as he pitted for fresh tires. He raced his way up to second and tried to run down Denny.
Ya know how I said Bell was having a nice day and rebounded from his spin earlier in the race. Well, his day ended in disaster as he spun for a second time, this time also collecting Noah Gragson and William Byron in a crash that sent the race into overtime. Despite running top 10 all day, Bell and Byron ended up with 18th and 31st-place finishes, respectively.
Hamlin, meanwhile, held off all challengers, from rain, restarts, and fresh tires, he beat them all, as he would famously say. He scored his fourth win of the season and 58th of his career.
The No. 19 was close, but the No. 11 prevailed in #NASCAROvertime. 💪 pic.twitter.com/oacv4cDbHl
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 20, 2025
Meanwhile, Chase Elliott leaves Dover thinking What if. I guess his best consolation is that he’s the regular-season points leader now. Which brings me to the other major takeaway. Waiting out the rain led to what NASCAR wanted: a very dramatic conclusion to the In-Season Bracket Challenge.
Read More: Who Will Win The NASCAR In-Season Challenge?
Ty vs. Ty for All the Money
Much like the ‘Dale and Dale Show’ from the 1993 Daytona 500. It looks like we are going to get the Ty and Ty show at the Brickyard. Gibbs was able to beat Tyler Reddick to reach the finale of the in-season challenge. While 32-seeded Ty Dillon also made the long climb to reach the final. He bested John Hunter Nemechek by one spot, all by getting back on the lead lap during one of the very unnecessary overtimes, in my opinion. Good luck to the Ty’s, but if you ask me, this in-season thing was a bust. Especially if they end up both fighting for the million dollars around the 24th spot or so. It was Denny Hamlin’s idea originally, so is this how he envisioned it?
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Main Photo: Sean Gardner, Getty Images
Recording Date: 7/20/2025
