Kevin Harvick sends a clear message to HMS after Chase Elliott’s robbed Dover victory: “They’ve got to figure out”

On the latest episode of former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour podcast, he discussed Chase Elliott's pit stop blunder at Dover. Harvick pointed out that Elliott has it all "figured out" despite losing the lead position.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver had a solid run during the qualifying session and secured pole position for the 400-mile race at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 20. Elliott won Stage 1 following a good pace, earning 10 additional points. However, things changed for him during stage two when he had a mishap during his pit stop, costing him his lead.

During the pit stop, the #9 Chevy Camaro ZL1 fell off the jack as it was not deep enough to support the weight evenly. This led to an additional 15 seconds being added to the pit stop, and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell took the lead. Reflecting on the same, Kevin Harvick expressed his views and said [22:17 onwards]:

"Well, the pit crew had a mishap right there, and it cost him the win or a shot at the win. He had control of the race at that point. But the one thing I want to point out is that Chase Elliott always talks about needing to qualify better. This race, qualifying was rained out, so he had the track position to start and it put him in a position to dominate. They’ve got to figure out how to qualify better. They score a lot of points; they’re grinders. They overcome things like this."

"And this shows you what can happen if they qualify better. They've got the cars and the capability from behind the steering wheel to dominate races, which is what we've been talking about him not being able to do. And a lot of that is a result of qualifying Saturdays. Saturdays are setting the tone for the nine car to not be able to dominate. And now, we know Chase Elliott—if he can qualify well, we saw it right here—he can dominate a race with the car and team he has," Kevin Harvick added.

Chase Elliott led over half the 400-mile race with his 238-lap lead. However, after his pit stop mishap, he lost the lead position and finished the race among the top 10 drivers. Elliott secured a P6 finish behind Ty Gibbs and bagged 48 points in his Cup Series standings.

---

"I hate that inconsistency": Kevin Harvick gets candid about how Chase Elliott stood out with his performance at Dover Motor Speedway

After Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin celebrated his fourth win at Dover Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick had a clear message for Chase Elliott's team. On the same podcast, Harvick pointed out the #9 team's recovery and Elliott's dominance at the 400-mile race.

Despite facing a major mishap, Elliott regained a spot among the top five drivers during Stage 2 of the race. Following his pace, he finished the race in P6, leading the most laps, 238. Meanwhile, the other three HMS drivers struggled to showcase their dominance, and only Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman secured a P4 and P3 finish, respectively. On the other hand, William Byron ended in P31.

Reflecting on the same, Kevin Harvick praised Kyle Larson for his recovery but criticized the pattern.

"At the end, I thought, man, he might have a shot to win this thing, with the tire situation. But they (No. 5) definitely needed to get back on track and be able to try to get themselves in a position to get the ship righted, and you've got five more races to do that before the playoffs start. But man, I hate that inconsistency," Kevin Harvick said. (26:35 onwards)

Despite the setback at Dover, Chase Elliott leads the Cup Series points table with 702 points. Additionally, he has secured one win, 12 top-10 finishes, and seven top-five finishes in 21 starts this season.