{"id":10244,"date":"2022-05-02T16:40:37","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T20:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=10244"},"modified":"2022-07-22T12:08:28","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T16:08:28","slug":"chase-elliott-dover-bottom-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2022\/05\/02\/chase-elliott-dover-bottom-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Chase Elliott works bottom line to win at Dover"},"content":{"rendered":"

Historically, the bottom line on restarts is the kiss of death at Dover Motor Speedway. For the last 24 hours, however, Chase Elliott<\/strong> used it to conquer the Monster Mile.<\/p>\n

On the final restart of the postponed by rain DuraMAX Drydene 400 with 53 laps to go, Elliott powered ahead of\u00a0Ross Chastain<\/strong> into Turn 1, cleared him exiting Turn 2 and drove away to score his 14th career NASCAR Cup Series victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Had some good circumstances finally,” he said. “Really appreciate Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and our entire team for just sticking with it. We\u2019ve had some tough races<\/a> over the last, I don\u2019t know, four, five months. Just great to get NAPA back to Victory Lane, great to get Hendrick Motorsports back to Victory Lane.”<\/p>\n

It’s Elliott’s first victory on an oval since Phoenix in 2020<\/a>, a stretch of 46 races. As well as his second career victory at Dover.<\/p>\n

“Just so proud. This one means a lot in a lot of different ways. Just appreciate all the effort. But thanks to all the fans for coming out. You\u2019re always awesome. Hope to see this big crowd here next year. Just a huge thanks to everybody involved. It\u2019s been a fun day and we\u2019re certainly going to enjoy.<\/p>\n

“Like I told them after the race, those guys, they\u2019ve been deserving of one for a while. Glad we could get across the line first. We\u2019ll enjoy it for a few days and go to work next week.”<\/p>\n

What they said<\/h3>\n

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.<\/strong> scored his best finish of the season with a runner-up finish. This comes after a stretch of 28th, 28th, 27th and 30th on tracks one mile or less, this season.<\/p>\n

“I felt like we had a car capable of winning,” he said. “Obviously getting off pit road at different times. My pit crew did a great job keeping us up front all day. This feels good. Hopefully we can carry this momentum on. The big tracks, the tracks we\u2019ve got coming forward, are really good tracks for us.<\/p>\n

“That was a lot of fun. A lot of battling. It was tough to pass, but it was fun running through lap traffic. I really wish we had like a 70-lap run to end there.”<\/p>\n

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DOVER, Del. – MAY 2: Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Pitbull Tour 2022 Chevrolet, and Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne at Dover Motor Speedway on May 2, 2022, in Dover, Delaware. Photo: Sean Gardner\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ross Chastain<\/strong> rounded out the podium in third, after leading 86 of 400 laps.<\/p>\n

“(I’m) super proud of this effort,” he said. “I thought we were a fifth-place car. A couple guys had misfortune with the cautions coming out. That cycled us to the lead. Pit crew was incredible today. They were just picking up spots every stop, got us the lead.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m racing with champions and I got beat.”<\/p>\n

Christopher Bell<\/strong> rebounded from an unscheduled stop on Lap 131 for a loose wheel to finish fourth and\u00a0Alex Bowman<\/strong> rounded out the top-five.<\/p>\n

Kyle Larson<\/strong>,\u00a0Kyle Busch<\/strong> (who led a race high of 103 laps), pole sitter\u00a0Chris Buescher<\/strong>,\u00a0Kevin Harvick<\/strong> and\u00a0Erik Jones<\/strong> rounded out the top-10.<\/p>\n

On the final lap,\u00a0Martin Truex Jr.<\/strong> made contact with Chastain on the backstretch, spun into the inside wall and finished 20th.<\/p>\n

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Ross Chastain on the last lap incident with Martin Truex Jr.: \u201cI crowded him up and I should have left him more of a lane.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/S4rr2HBvhK<\/a><\/p>\n

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 2, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n