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Elliott leads Hendrick 1-2 in Dover qualifying
Chase Elliott laid down a new track record in qualifying at Dover to give Hendrick Motorsports the front row for the Gander RV 400.
With the series back to single-car qualifying, Elliott was the 30th driver to make a qualifying attempt and clocked in at 165.960 mph (21.692s), knocking teammate William Byron off the pole. Byron sat in the top spot for the majority of qualifying as he was the fourth driver on track and clocked a 165.555 mph fast lap.
For Elliott, the pole is his second of the season and the sixth of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. It is also a first for him at Dover where he won last fall.
“Super fast,” said Elliott during his television interview. “The corner speeds are just so high, just a lot more throttle through the corner than what I feel like we had been carrying. But a lot of fun. Our NAPA Brakes Chevy -- it was good right there so that’s always nice. This place can either be a lot of fun in qualifying or it can be a handful, and today was one of those fun ones.
“Team Hendrick 1-2 is awesome. Chevrolet power and everybody that contributes to our cars has been working hard, so hopefully we can back it up on Sunday.”
Dover will be the fourth race this season to feature an all-HMS front row. The other three races were Daytona (Byron/Alex Bowman), Texas (Jimmie Johnson/Byron), and Bristol (Elliott/Byron).
Completing the top five were Kyle Larson at 165.464 mph, Joey Logano at 164.722 mph, and Bowman at 164.707 mph.
Defending race winner Kevin Harvick will start sixth after a lap of 164.331 mph.
Aric Almirola (164.249 mph), Denny Hamlin (164.151 mph), Brad Keselowski (164.114 mph), and Clint Bowyer (164.017 mph) rounded out the top 10. Hamlin was the only Toyota driver to qualify inside the top 10.
Prior to qualifying Almirola’s car failed inspection twice and his car chief, Chad Haney, has been ejected for the remainder of the weekend.
UP NEXT: Second practice at 9:05 a.m. ET Saturday.
Kelly Crandall
Kelly has been on the NASCAR beat full-time since 2013, and joined RACER as chief NASCAR writer in 2017. Her work has also appeared in NASCAR.com, the NASCAR Illustrated magazine, and NBC Sports. A corporate communications graduate from Central Penn College, Crandall is a two-time George Cunningham Writer of the Year recipient from the National Motorsports Press Association.
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