What went wrong with Chase Elliott at Dover that brought crew chief Alan Gustafson under the microscope?

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Chase Elliott had a topsy-turvy race weekend at Dover as the Hendrick Motorsports driver started the race from pole, was leading the race at one point, but finished in sixth place. While Elliott had a day to remember, his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, was the one who went under the microscope.

The Challenge Round 4 - AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 started with Elliott on pole. The #9 driver remained in the lead by the end of Stage 1, but lost three places after a jack issue resulted in a 15-second stop, where he lost the lead of the race in Stage 2.

In the end, the HMS driver finished Stage 2 in fourth place. In the final stage, Elliott was running in fourth, but Gustafson (Elliott's Crew chief) asked the driver to stay out, while others had pitted.

Even though it looked like a promising strategy, the advantage of fresher tires from rivals resulted in Elliott losing multiple places. In the end, the #9 driver came home in sixth place, behind race winner Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and Ty Gibbs.


Chase Elliott let his feelings known during the Dover Cup Series

Chase Elliott shared his thoughts while the race was still in progress. Speaking about his race during the weather delay in the final stage, here's what the #9 driver told TNT Sports:

 ImagnChase Elliott (9) makes a pit stop during the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. - Source: Imagn
"Been really proud of the effort all day. Couple little hiccups here and there, but had a nice recovery to get back to the lead and didn’t want to see that caution. I was hoping I was settling in for the last run of the day, but it’s part of it. It can change really fast.”

Following this, he commented on the jack issue he faced during the race:

"You know you’re still early enough in the event at that point that there’s still a lot of time to recover,” Elliott said. “It’s not all sunshine and rainbows all the time, so you just have to deal with whatever comes your way, and we had an issue come our way and I felt like we’ve dealt with it well.”

Currently, Chase Elliott is leading the regular season championship with 702 points to his credit after 21 races. Being one of the most consistent drivers, Elliott has a win, seven Top-5s, and 12 Top-10s to his name. He has led 374 total laps and faced no DNFs so far.

Thanks to Byron's wreck, Elliott moved up in the championship and took the lead from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. Notably, the #9 driver has an average start position of 15.81 and an average finish position of 10.

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About the author

Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is a passionate motorsport journalist for Sportskeeda, with a Master's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. He has over eight years of experience in the field and has over 10000 published articles on the internet.

As a dedicated follower of motorsport, Sabyasachi watches events closely, ensuring his reports are thorough and supported by reputable sources. He is inspired by Max Verstappen’s fearless attitude and dreams of attending the Indian GP if it returns to the calendar. An ardent F1 fan over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel and is now following Verstappen's dominant journey on the track.

Apart from F1, he is a big-time NASCAR and football (also soccer) fan. Sabyasachi supports Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports and Spanish club, Real Madrid.

He was a sub-junior level footballer and won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak by nature, Sabyasachi likes to try different cuisines and learn about new cultures. When away from his keyboard, he enjoys soccer, geopolitics, and playing with Khushi & Ubbu - his adorable beagles.

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