CONCORD, N.C. -- Alex Bowman crossed the finish line in seventh place after a wild ending at Talladega Superspeedway.
Bowman, William Byron and Jimmie Johnson avoided two accidents during the final lap to end the race under the white flag.
Byron placed 11th and Johnson finished the race in 13th. Chase Elliott had an impressive run during Stage 3 but he was tapped from behind and hit the wall. He was unable to finish the race and placed 38th.
After the race was delayed a day due to rain, the drivers were able to start their engines Monday under clearer skies. An hour rain delay did halt the event but the drivers were able to finish the entire race.
Ryan Blaney crossed the finish line first.
Below is a closer look at how Monday's race at Talladega unfolded for the four Hendrick Motorsports teammates.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 MOUNTAIN DEW/LITTLE CAESARS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 38th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott was 11th when the green flag waved to start the race. He was up a spot to 10th a lap into the race. By the fifth lap, he was up three spots to seventh but fell two positions to ninth by lap eight.
- He was down to 11th by lap 10 and in 12th another lap later. At the competition caution, Elliott had fallen to 15th and stated he felt that his Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was not maneuvering well.
- At the restart, Elliott was in 20th. He had a big run and was in 11th by the 34th lap. He fell five spots to 16th by lap 36 but was back in the top 10 in eighth by lap 38.
- Elliott was in 20th by lap 52. A caution due to rain came out during lap 57, which saw Elliott jump up to ninth. He finished Stage 1 in that position under a yellow flag.
- When the second stage started, Elliott was in 19th place. He pushed his way up to ninth by lap 73 behind teammates Jimmie Johnson and William Byron. Soon Elliott was leading all Hendrick Motorsports teammates in sixth place.
- Elliott was in 13th during lap 77. He was down to 19th two laps later but made a charge up to 10th by lap 85. Two laps later, Elliott was shuffled back to 22nd.
- When the fourth caution came out on lap 96, he was in 19th. During the restart, Elliott tumbled to 31st. He was quick to move up to 24th and by lap 108 was in 14th. However, he didn’t have any help at the top side and had to settle in 19th.
- He was in 22nd when a caution came out on lap 115. Elliott moved up five spots to 17th to end Stage 2.
- Elliott’s pit crew allowed him to move up to 12th at the start of Stage 3. Soon he pushed up to ninth and was in first with 62 laps to go.
- The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE dropped to fifth by lap 133. He was riding in third when he was sandwiched between two cars and had an accident, bringing out a caution. Elliott’s night ended early and he placed 38th.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 11th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Due to an inspection issue, Byron started at the back of the pack. One lap into the race, he was in 36th place.
- He jumped up to 30th one lap later and was in 25th by lap three. He soon was at the front of the pack in 12th by lap six.
- By lap seven, Byron was shuffled back to 20th place. He gained ground back just three laps later and was in 13th. By lap 10, he broke into the top 10 between teammates Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott.
- Byron soon was leading all Hendrick Motorsports drivers in seventh place by lap 16. At the competition caution, he was down to 17th.
- When the field went green again, Byron was up to 11th. He made a huge run in lap 34 and was in eighth and was up to fifth one lap later. With 25 to go in the first stage, Byron was riding high in second place. However, he soon was shuffled back to eighth.
- On lap 40, Byron led for the first time in the race. He fell back to second one lap later and settled in fifth with 18 laps to go in Stage 1. When the rain caution came out, Byron was up to 10th place. The first stage finished less than an hour later under a yellow flag.
- At the start of Stage 2, Byron was in ninth. He fell to 13th by the second turn of lap 66 but was up to third four laps later. By lap 72, Byron was in fifth. Just five laps later, he was in ninth.
- After the fourth caution of the race, Byron came off pit road in 10th. He passed Johnson for sixth place and was in seventh place when a caution came out toward the end of Stage 2. Byron made a huge run to first place in the final lap of Stage 2 but fell back in the final turn to finish in 10th.
- He began the third stage in 25th but was quick to get up to 10th a few laps later. He was trailing teammate Alex Bowman in seventh place with 58 laps left in the race. One lap later, he was riding in fourth.
- A caution brought on by Elliott slowed Byron down and he restarted in 23rd. He was in 24th when the seventh caution came out. On the restart, Byron was 15th.
- He made a run to the front of the pack and was in second for a bit before he settled into fourth. He made another run to the front of the pack and was riding in first place on lap 152.
- With 29 to go, Byron got loose and fell back to 14th. He was down to 20th for overtime and was able to finish in 11th after he bypassed two wrecks in the final lap.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 13th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Johnson led all Hendrick Motorsports drivers at the start of the race in fourth place. He was in sixth two laps in, dropped to seventh, then popped up to fifth by lap three.
- In the eighth lap, he had fallen to seventh and by lap 11 was riding in ninth. Ten laps later, he was down a spot to 10th. At the competition caution, he was in 11th.
- For the restart, Johnson moved up to ninth. By lap 36 Johnson was all the way up to fourth place.
- With 12 laps to go in Stage 1, Johnson was in eighth. He jumped up to third two laps later but was in fifth with nine to go in the first stage. Johnson moved all the way up to fourth when the race was under red at lap 57 due to rain. He took fourth-place stage points under yellow an hour later.
- Johnson was in second place coming off pit road to start Stage 2. He dropped to third quickly but jumped up to first place by lap 67. However, less than a lap later, Johnson tumbled to fifth.
- With 24 laps left in Stage 2, Johnson was down to 17th. When the fourth caution came out, Johnson headed to pit road, got two tires and returned to the track in fifth.
- He was down to 13th with 20 to go in Stage 2. On lap 106, Johnson was back in the top 10 in seventh. Ten laps later, a caution came out and Johnson was riding in 13th. He ended the second stage in 15th.
- Johnson was in 20th to start Stage 3. He was in the middle of the pack when Chase Elliott’s caution brought out a yellow flag with 52 to go.
- Johnson moved up to 15th when the field went green. He shuffled up to 13th at lap 143 when the seventh caution occurred.
- He was in seventh for the restart on lap 148 and moved up to fourth shortly after. Johnson was in 11th by lap 165 and moved up to ninth three laps later.
- With 18 laps to go, Johnson was up to sixth. He was down to 11th with six laps left in the race but pushed all the way up to second when he was spun out with six laps to go. That brought out the eighth caution of the race.
- Johnson was able to get back out and start on the lead lap for overtime and ended the race in 13th.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 7th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman started in eighth and was down to ninth one lap in. He was in 15th place by lap 16, but at the competition caution was back up to 13th.
- Bowman remained in 13th at the restart. He made a big run and was in eighth by lap 31. He was passed by teammate Jimmie Johnson and settled in 10th. He then moved ahead of Johnson and was in ninth place.
- He was cycled to 19th place with 23 laps to go in Stage 1 but made a huge run and was in first place by lap 46. Two laps later, he was in fourth.
- Bowman reclaimed the lead with 10 laps to go in Stage 1 but fell to third a lap later. He was in second place when the rain caution came out on lap 57. Bowman finished Stage 1 in that position once the red flag was lifted.
- He was first coming off pit road to start Stage 2. Seven laps into the second stage, Bowman was down to seventh. He moved up to fifth on lap 70 and weaved in and out of the top five before he was shuffled back to 23rd by lap 79.
- He was 22nd after another restart and moved up to 16th with 20 laps to go in Stage 2, which is how he placed at the end of the stage.
- Bowman hustled off pit road and started Stage 3 in 11th place. He moved up to eighth and was in sixth by lap 130. After the restart from the sixth caution, he was in 13th. He was up to 10th when the seventh caution occurred only a few laps later.
- Bowman was 10th on the restart. He was in the middle of the pack for the first half of the stage, and with 28 laps to go, made the run to second place.
- With 23 laps left, Bowman took over the No. 1 spot. He maintained that spot for seven laps until he dropped to fourth place on lap 173.
- He was down to ninth but the eighth start saw Bowman fall back to 15th in overtime. Bowman finished in seventh after two accidents on the final lap allowed him to make a run inside the top 10.