Chase Elliott’s radio message during Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway captured the frustration many drivers faced during the long and chaotic event.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver dealt with damage in more than one crash before telling his team, “I don’t know what the point of fixing it is at this point.”
The NASCAR All-Star Race featured a new format with two 75-lap stages and a 200-lap final segment worth $1 million. NASCAR moved the exhibition race to Dover Motor Speedway for the first time to refresh the event.
Instead, the race quickly turned chaotic with a major opening-lap crash, aggressive strategy calls, and repeated cautions. Chase Elliott later explained how early damage and tire strategy hurt his race while Denny Hamlin survived the chaos to win the NASCAR All-Star Race.
NASCAR Cup Series Driver Chase Elliott Frustrated After Early All-Star Race Crash
The NASCAR All-Star Race began with immediate trouble after a large crash on the opening lap that collected several NASCAR Cup Series drivers. Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, and Todd Gilliland were among the drivers involved in the incident at Dover Motor Speedway.
The crash forced NASCAR officials to stop the race with a red flag while teams repaired damaged cars. Ryan Preece’s car briefly caught fire during the accident.
As Elliott’s team worked on the No. 9 car, crew chief Alan Gustafson tried to understand the damage.
“We may have to change the right front suspension,” Gustafson said over the radio. “Don’t yell at me, but did those tires bounce off you?”
“Elliott answered, I was going to ask if we could change the steering box.”
Later in the NASCAR All-Star Race, Elliott suffered another incident and expressed frustration over the radio.
“I don’t know what the point of fixing it is at this point.”
The NASCAR Cup Series driver later explained that the opening crash put his team behind on tire strategy right away.
“We spun there on the first lap and then had to put our scuffed set of tires on, which is kind of silly, right?. We were down a set, and we didn’t really do anything wrong.”
NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway Creates Tire Strategy Problems
The NASCAR All-Star Race featured a different format than recent versions of the exhibition event. Drivers competed in two 75-lap stages before advancing into a long 200-lap final segment.
The format prompted several strategic decisions regarding tires, cautions, and stage positions for NASCAR Cup Series teams.
“It’s been aggressive. Different tire strategies had people doing some different stuff there.”
Drivers also battled for position before the stage breaks and inversion rules reset parts of the field.
“There were a lot of different strategies going on, guys trying to better their spot, I guess, for the break and the invert.”
The Hendrick Motorsports driver admitted he saw the aggressive racing developing before another incident caught him in traffic.
“I saw it getting crazy and I should have bailed. Unfortunately, I got caught up in a mess.”
Elliott also described the Dover weekend as feeling unlike previous NASCAR All-Star Race events during his NASCAR Cup Series career.
Denny Hamlin Wins NASCAR All-Star Race While Drivers Battle Chaos
While several NASCAR Cup Series drivers struggled through crashes and strategy issues, Denny Hamlin controlled much of the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver started from the pole and led more than 100 laps. Hamlin later passed teammate Chase Briscoe late in the race to secure his second NASCAR All-Star Race victory and the $1 million prize.
The win also marked Hamlin’s third straight NASCAR Cup Series victory at Dover Motor Speedway.
As the NASCAR Cup Series moves to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600, several drivers will try to move past a difficult NASCAR All-Star Race that produced more damage and frustration than celebration.
NASCAR Cup Series: Chase Elliott Saw Dover Motor Speedway Fall Apart Fast