CONCORD, N.C. -- William Byron led the effort for Hendrick Motorsports after he finished 11th at Kentucky Speedway on Sunday.
The third-year driver started in 21st and worked his way up the field to earn his 10th top-15 finish of the season.
In his return to the track, Jimmie Johnson placed 18th. Alex Bowman followed in 19th place and Chase Elliott rounded out the group in 23rd.
Cole Custer won the race.
Below is a closer look at how the race at Kentucky unfolded for the four Hendrick Motorsports teammates.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 23rd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott started in 10th and quickly rolled up to eighth by the second lap and edged up to seventh during the 16th lap. By the competition caution, Elliott was steady in seventh place.
- Coming off pit road, Elliott was in fourth place. He moved up to second by lap 31, which is where he rode for the next 49 laps to finish Stage 1.
- For the start of Stage 2, Elliott was in fourth. He was down to fifth in front of teammate Alex Bowman after he was passed on the 95th lap. Elliott fell two more spots to seventh several laps later.
- More than halfway through the second stage, teammate Jimmie Johnson passed him for seventh place, pushing Elliott down to eighth. By lap 149, Elliott pitted but his pit crew had issues with his right-rear tire. This delayed getting him off pit road and pushed him to 18th place.
- A caution brought out the third restart with two to go in Stage 2, which saw Elliott in 20th place. He was able to move up to 16th and finish the stage in that position.
- He rallied for the start of Stage 3 and kicked off that segment in 12th. Within two laps, Elliott was in sixth. He took a slight tumble to eighth with 60 laps to go in the race.
- Elliott pitted with less than 45 laps to go and came off pit road in 20th. One lap later, he was in 18th. With 26 laps to go, Elliott moved up to 15th.
- Despite cautions that came out, Elliott moved up the leaderboard and was in 13th with 15 laps left. He fell back to 19th with eight laps to go and took another tumble to 24th in the final laps. Elliott edged up a position to finish in 23rd.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 11th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron started in 21st and quickly shuffled up to 11th by the third lap. Fifteen laps later, Byron settled in 14th.
- After the competition caution, Byron jumped up a position to 13th. He slipped to 16th during the 33rd lap but was able to move up to 15th a few laps later. Byron remained steady in that position for the rest of the first stage.
- Byron started the second stage in 16th place and soon he was down to 17th. By lap 91, Byron was in 18th. With 30 to go in the second stage, Byron was down to 19th.
- With the majority of the field, Byron pitted with 10 to go in the second stage. He came out in 15th but fell to 21st after the third caution came out, which is how he ended Stage 2.
- The start of Stage 3 saw Byron move up to 19th. He was in 18th several laps later and was up to 17th by lap 200. By lap 213, Byron was up to 14th and was in 12th five laps later.
- He opted not to pit with many drivers in the field and was in fifth place by lap 223. One lap later, he was in second place. Minutes later, Byron was the race leader.
- A caution slowed down his momentum and Byron moved down to sixth place at the restart. He pushed teammate Jimmie Johnson ahead of him while still maintaining the same position.
- A caution came out with less than 20 laps left in the race. Byron was riding in seventh during that time, which is where he was during the final restart within the last two laps. Byron was on the wrong end of some downdraft action, which had him finish in 11th.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 18th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Johnson began the race in 20th. He was up five spots to 15th by the fourth lap but slipped to 18th 13 laps later. When the competition caution came out, Johnson had edged up to 16th.
- The seven-time champion was in 15th by the restart and was up to 13th by lap 34. Twenty laps later, Johnson moved up to 11th, which is how he finished Stage 1.
- Johnson was riding in 12th for the start of Stage 2. He moved back up to 11th by the 90th lap and cracked the top 10 in ninth place five laps later.
- By the 138th lap, Johnson surpassed teammate Chase Elliott for seventh place. He pitted with the majority of the field on lap 139 and came out of pit road in 10th. Johnson was in ninth place after the third restart of the race and slipped up to eighth for the end of the second stage.
- For the start of the final stage, Johnson was up to sixth place behind Alex Bowman. Within the first lap of Stage 3, Johnson passed Bowman and shot up to fourth place. One lap later, Johnson was in the top three.
- Johnson slipped to fourth several laps later. He had a loose wheel with 59 laps left in the race and headed to pit road to get fresh tires. He came back out in 24th. Johnson started making the push back and was in 14th by lap 225. One lap later, he was up to 13th.
- When the fourth caution of the race came out, Johnson remained in the field and was riding in fifth place. During the restart, Johnson was in ninth.
- With the help of teammate William Byron, Johnson vaulted up to sixth place. He continued his push and was in third place with 27 laps left. He fell back to the tail end of the lead lap after another car clipped him on a restart and sent him into the infield. This forced Johnson to pit road and he restarted in 23rd.
- With nine to go, he was in 21st. Johnson was able to push up to 18th and finished the race in that position.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CINCINNATI CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 19th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman rolled off the grid in fifth. He was able to shoot the gap up to fourth by lap 17 during an opening. He remained in fourth when the competition caution came out and opted to go to pit road.
- Bowman was in fifth behind teammate Chase Elliott when the field went green. He shuffled down to seventh by the 33rd lap and remained there until Stage 1 ended on lap 80.
- He jumped up to fifth by the start of the second stage. A few laps later, Bowman was behind Elliott again in sixth place. Bowman was in fifth when he pitted with 11 laps to go in the second stage. Coming out, he was in ninth place.
- Bowman edged to eighth by the third restart and made a run to sixth place to cap off Stage 2.
- He fell to 10th within the first three laps and soon was riding in 11th. He decided to head to pit road for tires with 57 laps to go and came out in 23rd.
- He had moved up to 16th 22 laps later. A restart with 14 laps to go saw Bowman in 19th. He maintained that position through another caution and until the end of the race.