When Chase Elliott came to Dover’s NASCAR All-Star Race, he was already a part of the main event. However, in the opening segment itself, his night was over. Two multi-car wrecks destroyed the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and left Elliott with a 33rd-place finish in NASCAR’s $1 million exhibition race.
The frustrating part for Elliott was that this damage happened before his team even had a chance to see what potential their car had.
“Yeah, it started sliding down the track, and I was just gonna long drive,” Elliott explained afterward. “Doing some different stuff there, obviously trying to figure out where you’re gonna reset and all those things.”
“Before the wreck, spun there on the first lap and then had to put our scuff set of tires on,” he said. “It was just kind of silly, right? We got rid of them, and we didn’t really do anything wrong.”
For Elliott, the trouble started immediately. On lap 2, Ryan Preece clipped Todd Gilliland while racing three-wide off Turn 4. Gilliland then got into Kyle Larson’s way, triggering a nine-car pileup, and also pulled in Elliott and Ryan Blaney. NASCAR red-flagged the race for over 30 minutes, and the crew cleaned up debris and extinguished a fire on the No. 26 car.
Elliott came out of that crash with manageable damage, but his strategy had already taken a hit. The No. 9 team had already burned through the tire inventory early and had to switch to a scuffed set instead of a fresh one. That decision, even though forced, became a big issue later on.
When six laps were left in the opening 75-lap segment, another wreck happened in front of Elliott. Alex Bowman got into Riley Herbst. The pack stacked up again, and cars slid down right into Elliott’s lane. It was the second hit that parked Elliott’s car in the garage.
Looking at the bigger picture, this seems to be more frustrating. Chevrolet teams came to Dover trying to improve their short-track package, especially after NASCAR moved such tracks, including Bristol, into the new low-downforce, 750-horsepower setup for 2026. Now, in terms of the race, Elliott still seems to be confused about what happened.
“I know that the Chevrolet guys have been trying to figure out how to make the short-track deal any better,” he said.
Ironically, Dover has been one of Elliott’s stronger tracks. Before the All-Star Race, he had won there twice, had 11 top-10 finishes in 15 starts, and led more than 630 laps. This is why his being parked out early looks like a big deal. The No. 9 car never got a chance to settle into the race rhythm. However, outside of the All-Star Race, Chase Elliott’s car seems to be one of the strongest this season in NASCAR.
Why Chase Elliott’s 2026 Chevrolet is a Serious Title Threat
To understand this, we’ll have to look back before the season commenced. For 2026, Chevrolet came out with a redesigned Camaro ZL1 nose based on the brand’s carbon performance package. As part of the update, the car’s splitter, grille shape, hood airflow, and rocker panels were all changed.
This was an attempt to change how the front end of Elliott’s car behaved. And that’s quite significant because he relies more on front-end feel. The previous Next Gen Chevrolet forced Elliott into defensive driving more often than not.
If the nose lost grip, the car pushed up the track without warning. This new body gives him steadier feedback, especially when going through the corners. To put it simply, the car finally reacts the way Elliott wants it to.
A lot of credit for this also goes to crew chief Alan Gustafson. During a January Goodyear tire test at North Wilkesboro, the No. 9 team spent most of its time studying airflow and ride-height changes instead of reading lap times. They made an aerodynamic notebook while other teams were still learning the basics of the new body.
That preparation paid off once NASCAR introduced the revised short-track package. This season, tracks like Dover, Bristol, and Darlington have shifted to a 750-horsepower package with lower downforce. All the drivers now need better throttle control because the car moves around far more than it did before.
But that plays out well for Elliott. He’s good at managing the car when it feels unstable and needs finesse. The raised horsepower comes in handy with his smooth throttle input and patient turning around the corners. That style is what got Elliott his win at Martinsville earlier this year.
NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Practice Feb 11, 2026 Daytona Beach, Florida, USA NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott 9 during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Daytona Beach Daytona International Speedway Florida USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMikexDinovox 20260211_mcd_ad4_33
The new Camaro body also gave Hendrick Motorsports a bit more freedom when it came to setup than in previous seasons. Chase Elliott had previously complained about NASCAR’s Next Gen platform boxing teams into similar setups.
The updated nose finally created room for teams to separate themselves, and Gustafson picked on that quickly. The No. 9 team leaned into mechanical grip instead of aero balance at Martinsville.
The aggressive front camber settings and suspension geometry let Elliott cut underneath competitors from the center off the corner. After that, there was Texas. When Chase Elliott won there, the No. 9 crew delivered its three fastest stops of the entire season. The better stability of the car reduced setup pressure and let teams focus more aggressively on executing their strategy and focusing on track position.
These numbers show how much the combination has improved. Through 12 races, Elliott is in third position in the Cup standings with two wins, five top fives, and seven top 10s. His average finish is just above 10th, one of the best marks in the series.
More importantly, Hendrick Motorsports now has room to experiment because Elliott has already locked himself into the playoffs with two wins. The No. 9 team can now spend summer races testing setups and building strategies specifically for the postseason.
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