CONCORD, N.C. -- Racing, unofficially, is back.
On Sunday, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers geared up for the annual Clash, the 75-lap non-points race that kicks off the NASCAR season a week before the DAYTONA 500.
Chase Elliott, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman all rolled off the grid at Daytona International Speedway in the top 16, which saw multiple incidents and a finish that ended in overtime.
Elliott was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to finish in the top 10 with a seventh-place finish.
Johnson finished 11th while teammates Byron and Bowman were scored 14th and 15th, respectively.
Erik Jones won the Clash.
Below is a closer look at how the Hendrick Motorsports teammates fared in Sunday afternoon’s exhibition.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 MOUNTAIN DEW TEAM CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 7th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott started in 11th place and managed to work his way up to sixth place by the 47th lap of the race. He hung back in the first half, but worked his way up to the No. 1 spot 54 laps into the race.
- By Lap 57, he fell behind to the third position, but stayed steady behind teammate Bowman.
- In the race's final 10 laps, Elliott had dropped drastically to second-to-last place, but moved up to 13th after the first caution period.
- After the second yellow flag slowed the race, Elliott found himself in fourth place and then move up to third place when overtime started.
- Miraculously, Elliott assumed the lead before another caution flag was displayed. He sustained rear damage during the recent green-flag run, falling to fifth.
- Upon returning to green, Elliott was involved in a multi-car incident and was unable to continue.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY TEAM CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 14th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In his first Clash race, Byron managed to work his way up to the No. 1 spot by the 50th lap of the race after starting seventh when the green flag dropped.
- A couple laps later, he fell to the seventh spot, right behind teammate Johnson, who was in sixth place.
- By Lap 65, Byron had a bit of damage to the nose, but stayed steady in ninth place.
- He moved up to sixth place when the yellow flag dropped with six laps to go.
- He was caught up in the second on-track incident with three laps to go, which resulted in a damaged rear bumper. He sustained enough damage that he and the No. 24 team had to head back to the garage.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 11th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Johnson started in 16th place, making his movement to the front of the pack difficult. He reached eight place on the 49th lap, trailing first place by less than a second.
- As the final third of the race started, he reached sixth place, following teammates Elliott and Bowman.
- By the 63rd lap, Johnson slid up to third. He dropped a position just a lap later, quickly jumped to second, but fell back to eighth by the time the final 10 laps started.
- He managed to avoid the race's first incident and squeaked past the race's second incident, but found himself caught up in the third, ending his Clash run.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 15th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- After starting in eighth place, Bowman also hung back like his fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammates. However, after lap 54 he worked his way up to the No. 2 spot behind Elliott.
- During the 57th lap, Bowman surpassed Elliott and held the top spot for a couple of laps.
- When the yellow flag fell on Lap 69, Bowman was sitting in 11th place.
- He was involved in the second accident of the race, making contact with the retaining wall with three laps to go. He was able to stay on the track afterward, but fell to 16th place.
- When overtime started, Bowman was caught up in a multi-car incident that also took out Johnson, ending his Clash run.