JOLIET, Ill. – In the debut of the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers claimed top-12 finishes.
At Chicagoland Speedway, Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott led the majority of Sunday’s race, with Elliott leading the team to the checkered flag in third.
"We're definitely proud of it," Elliott said of the speed his No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS brought to the track. "We're proud of that, we're proud of the run we had today. We obviously hate to come up short but that's part of life some days. We were fast and I think that's something to be happy about. We can move forward to Loudon with some motivation and get ready to get going."
Kasey Kahne and Alex Bowman followed in seventh and 10th positions, respectively.
Johnson, who led the majority of the first half of the race, rebounded from a late-race penalty to take the checkered flag in 12th.
Martin Truex Jr. won the Chase-opening event.
Below is a look at how the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared Sunday afternoon.
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 LIFTMASTER CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 7th
STANDINGS: 17th
RECAP: Rounding out the Hendrick Motorsports contingent at the green flag, Kahne made early gains from his 19th starting position. By Lap 40, Kahne – who posted top-10 speeds in both practice sessions this weekend – had worked his way up to 12th. Following the first caution of the race on Lap 49, the driver of the No. 5 LiftMaster Chevrolet SS restarted in 10th behind all four of his teammates. Gaining two positions, Kahne held a steady line directly behind teammate Elliott for several laps. The driver continued to race inside the top-10 for the remainder of the race, taking home a seventh-place finish.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 3rd
STANDINGS: 6th
RECAP: Rolling off the grid in 14th for the start of his first career Chase race, Elliott made quick work of driving inside the top 10, following teammate Johnson to the sixth position by Lap 10. With his sights set on the lead, Elliott continued running steadily just outside the top five, crossing that barrier by Lap 40. Following a Lap 49 caution, Elliott returned to the track for the restart in seventh and quickly drove to the front, running in third behind Johnson by Lap 80. After taking four fresh tires and fuel just after Lap 100, the rookie found himself trailing Johnson in second with a Chevy he said he was “really happy” with. Just over 75 laps later, Elliott drove by his teammate to take over the lead, however a caution was brought out with just 75 laps remaining. Opting for the outside position for the Lap 197 restart, Elliott utilized the momentum on the high side of the track to clear Johnson out of Turn 2 to maintain the lead. Later, crew chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott in earlier than planned during the final round of green-flag pit stops. Returning to the track, the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS once again took over the lead when current leader, teammate Bowman, pitted with 19 laps to go. Piloting his Chevy through traffic, Elliott held the lead until the final caution of the race was brought out with four laps remaining. Elliott lined up fifth for the restart behind competitors who chose not to pit and ultimately crossed the finish line in third.
FINISHED: 12th
STANDINGS: 8th
RECAP: After a canceled qualifying session Friday, Johnson led his teammates to the green flag Sunday in the ninth position. Handling a Chevrolet that was slightly free in the beginning stages of the race, Johnson grabbed a good start, moving up to fifth in the first several laps. Crew chief Chad Knaus’ call to pit during the first round of green flag pit stops benefitted Johnson when a caution was called while the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy was on pit road. The result was the lead position, which Johnson took over for the Lap 56 restart. Leading through one additional caution and two rounds of green-flag pit stops, Johnson only gave up the hold on the No. 1 position when teammate, Elliott, drove by him on Lap 177. Trailing Elliott for the majority of the second half of the race, Johnson encountered a setback during his final green-flag pit stop. A penalty was issued for the No. 48 Chevy due to speeding on pit road, which sent Johnson a lap down running in 15th with just 12 laps remaining in the race. Johnson ultimately crossed the finish line in 12th.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 10th
STANDINGS: 28th
RECAP: After falling back to 24th during the first 40 laps of the race, Bowman – competing in his first race of an eight-race stretch filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. – battled a changing Chevrolet before the first caution of the event was brought out. After finding luck on pit road, Bowman restarted in second on Lap 56 behind teammate Johnson. The 23-year-old driver settled into fifth and, following the second round of green-flag pit stops, continued his steady run just inside the top 10. As his Chevrolet grew more loose as the track freed up a bit, Bowman moved back to 12th position following a restart with just 69 laps remaining. Staying out while the field pitted during the final green-flag pit stop cycle, Bowman assumed the lead with less than 25 laps to go. Six laps later, while out front, Bowman pitted, giving up the lead. He returned to the track and took home a 10th-place finish.