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NASCAR Playoffs at Dover: Gander Outdoors 400 recap, finishing order as Chase Elliott wins

By Nick Tylwalk

DOVER, DE - OCTOBER 07: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 7, 2018 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
DOVER, DE - OCTOBER 07: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 7, 2018 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /
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A calm afternoon by Monster Mile standards turned into the latest wild finish in the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs.

Another week, another wild finish. That’s becoming the norm in the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs, and the Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway fit right into that narrative after several playoff drivers wrecked in the closing laps following a late restart, forcing an overtime that was eventually won by Chase Elliott for his second career Cup Series victory.

As has been the case several times already during the postseason, Elliott didn’t figure to be in contention for a win until very late in the race. Kevin Harvick dominated the race’s first two stages, winning them both, with his biggest challenge coming from Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer.

It was another SHR driver who was in the lead as the laps began to tick away in the final stage, with Aric Almirola looking like his No. 10 Ford was the car to beat. But Bowyer went into the wall in a one-car incident with less than 10 laps remaining, ending his day and shuffling the field a bit after pit stops.

Almirola was forced to restart several rows back, and after he hit the wall trying a little too hard to get back to the front, he slid down the track into Brad Keselowski and touched off a multi-car wreck that involved multiple playoff drivers.

The overtime restart pitted Elliott against Denny Hamlin on the front row, someone with whom he’s had a bit of history. This time, however, there was no contact between the two, as Elliott was able to get his No. 9 Chevrolet easily out in front of Hamlin to take the white flag, and made no mistakes as came around to see the checkered flag too.

Elliott nearly had a victory in the same race at Dover in 2017 only to see it slip away late, something he noted in his post-race interview with NBC Sports.

“That definitely makes it sweeter, for sure,” Elliott said. “You don’t appreciate it in those moments. but to come back here and have the day we had, and move on to the next round, not have to worry about Talladega next week, it’s a hell of a day.”

Bowyer (who finished 35th), Alex Bowman (28th) and even Harvick, who ended up sixth, aren’t likely to describe it that way, but fans should be eating up all the late race drama the playoffs have provided so far. With Talladega lurking, that status quo isn’t likely to change for at least another week.

2018 Gander Outdoors 400 finishing order from Dover International Speedway

(p) – driver still alive in NASCAR Playoffs

  1. Chase Elliott (p)
  2. Denny Hamlin
  3. Joey Logano (p)
  4. Erik Jones
  5. Kurt Busch (p)
  6. Kevin Harvick (p) – stage 1 and 2 winner
  7. Austin Dillon
  8. Kyle Busch (p)
  9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  10. Daniel Suarez
  11. Ryan Blaney (p)
  12. Kyle Larson (p)
  13. Aric Almirola (p)
  14. Brad Keselowski (p)
  15. Martin Truex Jr. (p)
  16. Paul Menard
  17. Ryan Newman
  18. Jamie McMurray
  19. William Byron
  20. Matt Kenseth
  21. Regan Smith
  22. AJ Allmendinger
  23. Bubba Wallace
  24. David Ragan
  25. Chris Buescher
  26. Michael McDowell
  27. Matt DiBenedetto
  28. Alex Bowman (p)
  29. Ty Dillon
  30. Corey LaJoie
  31. Jeffrey Earnhardt
  32. JJ Yeley
  33. Landon Cassill
  34. B.J. McLeod
  35. Clint Bowyer (p)
  36. Jimmie Johnson
  37. Ross Chastain
  38. Harrison Rhodes
  39. Timmy Hill
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