Five weeks. That’s how long William Byron had commanded the Cup Series standings before a chaotic weekend at Dover scrambled the leaderboard. Initially shadowing victory, Byron’s reign ended in the red mist after Christopher Bell’s late spin. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott, fresh off a win at Atlanta this summer, placed himself second, sandwiched between teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron.
Chase Elliott capitalized on his stage win and 200 laps led at Dover to claim the lead in the regular season standings. His sixth-place finish was enough to leapfrog Byron and take charge as the series races its final stretch. This marks a dramatic turnaround for Elliott’s season, which is starting to look like one of the more underrated campaigns of the Next-Gen era.
William Byron gets dethroned
Chase Elliott earned the pole after qualifying on Saturday was washed out at the Monster Mile. Then, he went into a day defined by Mother Nature, strategy shifts, and pit crew heroics. With a brand-new tire compound thrown into play, Elliott powered out front at the green flag and led a staggering 171 of the first 184 laps, dominating Stage 1 and setting the tone for the day. But during Stage 2, a botched pit stop, when the jack fell off, cost him 15 seconds and the lead, a setback his jackman later admitted was unfortunate.
Speaking to TNT, TJ Semke, No. 9’s jackman, said, “The jack post wasn’t as deep on the jack plate as you typically would like, and just the amount of force we’re applying to the end of those handles, sometimes it’ll pop out of there. That was obviously unfortunate. You never want to be leading the race and make a mistake, regardless of where you’re running, but especially not leading the race. But fortunately, it didn’t hinder us too much, and we were able to bounce back and gain a couple of spots. Good restart by Chase, fighting the 20 (Christopher Bell) there and ended up back in the lead. So, fortunately, didn’t kill us too bad, but that’s always frustrating when it happens.”
But despite this hiccup, Chase Elliott rebounded swiftly, reclaiming the lead by the end of Stage 2 and maintaining top-three places as the race began to creep in. The race saw two weather-oriented cautions before a red flag halted proceedings on lap 387 for a 56-minute deluge. After resumption, Elliott’s team opted to stay out, weighing on track position, and while he slipped to 6th, this solid finish was enough to vault him into the points lead, maintaining his streak of top-20 finishes on the year.
William Byron also probably would not have conceded this lead if it wasn’t for Christopher Bell! The #20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver spun out with 8 laps to go, causing a swerving Noah Gragson to collide with William Byron, relegating the duo to finishes outside the top-30. This race also marked Byron’s fifth finish outside the top-25 in the last 7 races, a harrowing statistic that will haunt him if he loses the regular season championship.
Chase Elliott has a 17-point lead over William Byron in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship after Dover.
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) July 20, 2025
Now it is the No. 9 driver’s time to sit on top with 702 points. With five regular-season races left, that 17-point advantage puts Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports in a prime position as the series heads towards its finale. He will definitely aim to build on a strong day and lock down his bonus points for the playoffs, while William Byron looks to reclaim ground and avoid repeating the misfortune that cost him Dover.
Reflecting in the post-race interview with TNT, Elliott’s resilience in the face of adversity didn’t go unnoticed. He said, “Been really proud of the effort all day. Couple of 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.” This marks only the fourth time this season that William Byron didn’t top the standings and the first time Chase Elliott held the lead since last year. However, it is quite unfortunate that William Byron’s lead ceased due to a fault that wasn’t even his own.
But overall, for Hendrick Motorsports, this day couldn’t have gone any better. With three of four drivers finishing inside the top 5, this is definitely something to celebrate.
Team Hendrick’s rise at Dover
Once running near the front and even earning the free pass under caution, William Byron’s effort unraveled dramatically. He started inside the top five early, finishing stage one in P4 and stage two in P6. But his hopes vanished on lap 393 when he spun battling to avoid Christopher Bell’s wreck. Cut down on the inside wall, Byron dropped to P31, indeed a disappointing day for him.
However, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson seem to have had the best day at Dover. Alex Bowman clawed his way from a P16 starting spot into top-tier contention. He looked formidable. He was P5 by stage one and elevated to P2 and stage two before settling into P3 at the finish. Capitalizing on a smart pit strategy and strong pace, Bowman secured a solid podium in the rain-delayed, double-overtime Dover classic.
Kyle Larson had a harder battle to endure. Starting deep in the field at P25, Larson made steady progress by finishing stage one in P10 and pushing up to P5 in stage two. His calculated, long-run patience paid dividends as he charged to a fourth-place finish, marking his 10th top five of the year. This may just be his attempt to get out of his mid-season slump.
Moreover, Dover served as a push for Alex Bowman from P12 to P9 in the Driver standings as Larson’s P3 remains. All in all, the Hendrick Motorsports camp is tucked in safely in the top 10 in the driver standings, with all four cars posing as serious contenders. Do you think HMS has the best shot at a championship in 2025? Let us know in the comments!
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