CONCORD, N.C. -- The second race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup saw Hendrick Motorsports earn two top-10 finishes -- and all four drivers took the checkered flag inside the top 14.
JOHNSON BATTLES BACK
Late in Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it looked like Jimmie Johnson's top-10 run could be derailed by a series of caution flags.
Running near the front of the pack, Johnson stayed on the track instead of taking fresh tires, and competitors began to pass the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet SS.
“The second half of the race, there was one run we were off and lost some track position and had to rally back from that," Johnson explained. "Those quick cautions at the end, if you were on tires you were Superman, if you weren’t on tires you were getting run over."
So when the penultimate caution flag of the race flew with 16 laps remaining, No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus called Johnson down pit road for fresh tires.
The move allowed him to move back inside the top 10 before the checkered flag waved, finishing eighth.
"It was just a chaotic close to the race," Johnson said. "I’m glad to finish in the top 10 with this Lowe’s Chevrolet and we will go on to Dover.”
TOP-10 TEAR
Kasey Kahne, who started Sunday from the rear of the field, spent the afternoon at New Hampshire racing toward the front.
He got as high as the top five late in the race before a series of cautions affected the running order.
Still, he was able to hold on to his top-10 position, thanks in part to a call by No. 5 crew chief Keith Rodden to head to pit road for fresh tires during a caution with 16 laps remaining.
Kahne ultimately took the checkered flag ninth, marking his fourth consecutive top-10 finish.
ELLIOTT AFFECTED BY CAUTIONS
Rolling off the grid inside the top 10, Elliott made his way inside the top five before the midway point of Sunday's race. And that's where he stayed for the majority of the remainder of the event.
But when a series of cautions began with just more than 50 laps remaining, Elliott found himself in a tough situation. Running so close to the front, the No. 24 team elected to stay on the track as opposed to heading to pit road for fresh tires.
Elliott was able to maintain his top-five position throughout -- until the restart following the penultimate caution with 16 laps to go.
“I had a good car and the cautions didn’t fall our way," Elliott said.
By the time the final caution of the race flew with less than 10 laps to go, many competitors behind the driver of the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS had fresher tires, and Elliott took the checkered flag in 13th.
Entering the final race of the first round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the rookie is ninth in the standings. The top 12 cars advance to the next round, and Elliott is looking forward to improvement in the cutoff race at Dover International Speedway.
"We need to do a better job," he said.