NASCAR Cup Dover: Elliott holds off Stenhouse to win rain-delayed race

Elliott powered past Ross Chastain on a restart with 53 of 400 laps remaining to grab the lead and kept Stenhouse at bay - having gone into the race leading the series standings for six consecutive weeks, while remaining the only Hendrick Motorsports driver without a win this season.

The victory, the 11th of his career, is also his first win on an oval track since November 2020 – when he won the 2021 title at Phoenix Raceway.

Daniel Suarez had spun in Turn 3 after making contact with Corey LaJoie to bring out the 11th caution of the race on lap 335, although most lead-lap cars remained on the track rather than pit and Chastain remained out front when the race resumed on Lap 340.

While Elliott and Chastain raced side-by-side for the lead, Tyler Reddick spun off Turn 2 seven laps later to bring out a further caution. The race returned to green-flag conditions on lap 348 with Chastain still the leader, followed by Elliott, Truex and Stenhouse.

Elliott quickly cleared Chastain for the lead on the restart as Stenhouse moved to third, and the JTG Daugherty driver then powered into the runner-up position on Lap 351 as Chastain dropped to third. With five laps to go, Elliott’s lead over Stenhouse remained at a comfortable 2 seconds.

“Had some good circumstances finally. Really appreciate Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and our entire team for just sticking with it,” Elliott said. “We’ve had some tough races over the last, I don’t know, four, five months.

“Just great to get back to Victory Lane, great to get Hendrick Motorsports back to Victory Lane. This one means a lot in a lot of different ways. I just appreciate all the effort.

"Huge thanks to everybody involved. It’s been a fun day and we’re certainly going to enjoy it. Like I