Controversial pit call leads to disappointing result for Chase Elliott at Dover

On Lap 340, however, his shot at his second win of 2025 came undone. 

While Denny Hamlin stayed out, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman all came down pit road and took four tires. Elliott also opted to pit — but in a strange twist, crew chief Alan Gustafson opted to give Elliott only two fresh tires to work with. 

Not only did Elliott have a slight tire disadvantage to those around him, but Hamlin, who stayed out and did not pit again for the rest of the race, hung on to the lead and went on to win the race. 

Had Elliott taken four tires, he may have been able to do what Bell did and challenge Hamlin for the lead. Had Elliott stayed out, he could've raced Hamlin for the lead on the Lap 344 restart instead. 

But neither of those potential circumstances came to fruition, and Elliott and his two right-side tires were stuck in third when the red flag was displayed for rain with 14 laps to go. Eventually, he finished the race in sixth — a great result, but disappointing given how fast the No. 9 Chevrolet was. 

Crew chiefs are tasked with making incredibly difficult, spur-of-the-moment decisions, but it appeared that Gustafson made the wrong choice on Sunday. 

On the bright side, however, the No. 9 team put together one of its best races in a long time and appears to be a legitimate championship threat. Elliott now holds the lead in the regular season standings by 16 points over William Byron.