After having missed six races because of a snowboarding injury, Chase Elliott has an uphill task of qualifying for the Playoffs. With 10th- and 12th-place finishes at Martinsville and Talladega, respectively, the Hendrick Motorsports star is ranked 31st on the table. While there was a good chance to bridge the gap on Sunday, it seems that’s not happening either.
Although Elliott has been granted a waiver to try and qualify for the Playoffs, he is far from close to achieving that. Truth be told, he hasn’t looked his best post his return. Moreover, his hopes to qualify on Sunday have taken a major dent.
Chase Elliott suffers a massive setback in booking a Playoff spot amid the latest news concerning Dover Motor Speedway
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In his seven full-time NASCAR Cup Series seasons, Chase Elliott has never once missed the Playoffs. In fact, he has, more often than, been a top contender for the championship. Given his capabilities, it would surely be a big miss to not have him in the Playoffs this campaign.
While a win should suffice Elliott’s cause to qualify, it gets a bit trickier with the Next Gen cars. With the introduction of the Gen-7 car in 2022, the number of different winners has gone up dramatically. Last year, there were 19 different winners. Even in the ongoing campaign, there have been seven different winners in the first 10 races.
So, this does make the 27-year-old’s case a complex one. Regardless, a win at the Dover Motor Speedway would do wonders for Elliott’s cause. Unfortunately, that’s not happening with the latest news coming from the different media houses.
The qualifying race was already rained out on Saturday. Due to this, Kyle Busch earned the pole position as NASCAR’s performance metric calculates the lineup. While that is still fine, the news following it is more than disappointing for the fans. NASCAR has postponed the 400-mile Cup Series race in Dover until Monday citing rain forecast.
NEWS: The #Wurth400 at the @MonsterMile has been postponed to Monday at 12 PM ET on FS1, PRN and @SiriusXMNASCAR. pic.twitter.com/ewAnUCvSOs
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 30, 2023
Obviously, this is a bummer for everyone involved. In fact, it is the second straight year that the race in Dover has been postponed because of rain. Furthermore, Dover will conduct a Monday race for the fifth time in the 105 Cup Series races held at the venue.
Naturally, this decision has left the fans fuming.
Fans lash out at NASCAR following the postponement of the 400-mile race at Dover Motor Speedway
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With both the Cup Series and Xfinity qualifying races getting rained out, there was no shortage of disappointment at the weekend. This latest development only adds more fuel to the fire.
After a hectic and stressful week, fans look up to the weekend races more than anything. Furthermore, many of them travel far to witness the race live. Naturally, this impromptu decision has shattered the fans’ excitement. In fact, many went on Twitter to express their anger and dismay.
The rain won today. Race at @MonsterMile will be tomorrow at 12PM. @theNAPAnetwork #di9 pic.twitter.com/PCncVj8raE
— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) April 30, 2023
“What a joke. You should have called it last night and not wasted everyone’s time.”
“Of fucking course well looks like I’m watching from school”
“NASCAR not even trying to put cars on the track this weekend.”
“Great call, don’t waste fans’ time Monday races suck cause of work for most, but that’s what recording is for. At least Indycar is still today”
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“Dang a race I was looking forward to watch now gotta work”
“You should called the races since yesterday, you guys already know. Drove 3 hours for nothing.”
“well done NASCAR, now we don’t have to wait around all day. KEEP IT UP!”
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Certainly, it is disheartening for a number of reasons. Should NASCAR have taken this decision earlier? Let us know in the comments below.
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