Pit stop issues trouble Chase Elliott again as HMS star loses out winning Stage 2

Chase Elliott missed out on a precious Stage 2 win when a mishap at the pit road during green flag conditions derailed his run. NASCAR shared the video of the pit stop not going as planned on X.

Elliott's struggles with pit stop challenges came back to haunt him at Dover, and took away his chance to win Stage 2 of the NASCAR Cup race. Elliott started on pole after qualifying was rained out. But it was Christopher Bell who won Stage 2.

Elliott's Hendrick Motorsports team based its race day strategy on past experience and simulation data to help them deal with the demands of a repaved track like Dover, including limited practice and old tires that can be more typical of those types of tracks. Elliott was up front early and won his first stage of the 2025 season, but trouble followed when routine pit stops came into play as the race progressed.

NASCAR shared it with the caption:

"Green-flag pit stop issues for the No. 9 changes up the lead."

Afterwards, he managed to retake the lead, and was ahead of Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and William Byron after 275 laps.

Chase Elliott started in the pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway. NASCAR opted to use its metric system to fill the starting grid for the race. Saturday’s practice and qualifying were washed out due to rain. Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports No. 9), who finished third in the race at Sonoma, had the top metric and finished second in the owner standings.

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Chase Elliott hoping to avoid Dover curse ahead of NASCAR start from pole

Chase Elliott was joined on the front row by Chase Briscoe, with Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron rounding out the top five starters. Ahead of the race, Elliott spoke candidly about his approach to Dover, a track known for its unforgiving nature. He remarked to PRNLive:

"This is one of those places that will bite you. I try to respect this place as much as possible, and I hope it respects me back"

Elliott, who has amassed two wins and ten top-five finishes at Dover, acknowledged his struggle with traditional qualifying this season and viewed the rainout pole as a result of season-long consistency rather than single-lap speed.

Elliott emphasized the importance of maximizing the first pit stall advantage and capitalizing on the rare opportunity to start up front.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl