CONCORD, N.C. -- Alex Bowman placed eighth and William Byron finished in 10th in a caution-filled Kansas race Thursday night.
The top-10 finish for Byron pushed him back in the playoff race, and the 22-year-old driver did it with interim crew chief Keith Rodden.
Bowman also secured a personal record Thursday night - it was his fourth top-10 finish at Kansas, which is his most for all tracks.
Chase Elliott finished in 12th, while Jimmie Johnson placed 32nd.
Denny Hamlin won the race.
Below is a closer look at how the race at Kansas Speedway unfolded for the four Hendrick Motorsports teammates.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 12th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Chase Elliott rolled off the grid in 11th and slipped to the middle of the pack within the first few laps. By the sixth lap, he was riding in 15th.
- Elliott moved up to 12th by the 14th lap and remained there until the competition caution dropped on lap 25.
- He still was in 12th coming off pit road and moved up to 11th by lap 34. He was in 13th halfway through the first stage and remained in that position for the rest of the segment.
- For the start of Stage 2, Elliott was riding in 22nd. After a caution 21 laps into the second stage, Elliott moved up to 16th. He fell to 19th but battled back to 14th by lap 124. He was in 13th 10 laps later but fell back to 14th a short time later.
- Another caution came out with less than 20 laps to go and Elliott opted to head to pit road. He restarted in 15th and broke into the top 10 with eight laps left in Stage 2 and earned a valuable stage point in the end.
- Elliott decided to stay out on the track in between stages and restart in second. He trickled to third a lap in but moved up to second when the sixth caution occurred. A seventh caution immediately after the restart allowed Elliott to move up to first place.
- He got loose on the restart on lap 182 and was frozen in third when the red flag came out. For the next restart, it wasn’t long until Elliott shuffled back to sixth. He was in seventh when another caution occurred with 72 to go.
- He stopped on pit road and came out in 13th. Elliott moved into 11th with 51 laps left and was in ninth seven laps later. With 36 laps left in the race, Elliott moved up to seventh.
- After the 11th caution, Elliott was in 11th place. He moved into 10th for a short time but was pushed back with less than 15 to go. He finished in 12th.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 10th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- William Byron started in 15th and tried to go out wide to get around traffic in the first turn of the race and slipped back to 22nd. Before the 10th lap, he moved up to 20th.
- Several laps later, Byron moved up to 19th. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE bobbed around in that position and was 20th at the competition caution.
- Byron was riding in 16th when action resumed. He slid to 19th a few laps later and by the 47 lap he was riding in 22nd. He ended the first stage in 23rd.
- He kicked of Stage 2 in the same position. When the third caution occurred, Byron opted to stay out on the track and was in eighth for the restart. He slipped back to 10th early in lap 105 and was in 13th two laps later.
- Byron moved up to 12th four laps later but started to slip back as the stage went on. By the 46th circuit in Stage 2, Byron was in 18th. When another caution came out, Byron headed to pit road and came off in the same position.
- He was down to 21st by lap 154 and moved up to 19th by the end of the second stage. He edged up to 16th after the start of the final stage. Byron avoided the sixth and seventh cautions, giving him a chance to head to pit road and restart in 21st.
- Yet another caution happened on the restart, brought out the first red flag of the race and froze Byron in 15th. He moved up to 13th when the field went green but was passed by Alex Bowman and dropped to 14th.
- He stayed out on the track when the ninth caution happened, propelling him to fourth. He took over first quickly and led his first laps of the night. Byron fell back to second with 61 laps to go but got the lead back 15 laps later.
- Byron was in first when the 10th caution occurred and headed to pit road for two fresh tires. He lost the lead to Bowman and the pair battled it out for a lap.
- The 11th caution occurred, and Byron restarted in second. He fell to fifth, then was in eighth with 18 laps left. Byron remained in the top 10 for the rest of the race, finishing 10th.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 32nd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Johnson began in the race in 20th. Nine laps in, he moved up to 17th and remained there for 10 laps until he edged up a position to 16th.
- Johnson jumped up to 15th before the competition caution dropped. He was in the same position when the green flag waived and moved up to 13th several laps later.
- The seven-time Cup Series champion was in 12th place by the 45th lap. He was patient in that position for 25 laps before he moved up to 11th, which is how he ended Stage 1.
- Johnson restarted in 12th place but got shuffled back to 18th by the 89th lap. Three laps later, he moved up to 16th. A caution shuffled the track order after cars pitted and Johnson was in 19th when the field went green.
- He moved into 16th place by lap 108 and was up to 13th 32 laps into Stage 2. Ten laps later, he was riding in 11th and cracked the top 10 by lap 127.
- Another caution came out with less than 20 laps to go and Johnson opted to take two tires, propelling him to second place on the restart. He held the lead for part of the lap but was pushed back to ninth with seven laps left in the stage, which is how he ended it.
- Johnson restarted in the same position but fell to 14th nine laps into Stage 3. After a restart from the sixth caution, Johnson was caught up in an accident that saw him head to pit road. He was in 27th when a red flag happened less than a lap into the restart and Johnson was able to get up to 25th. However, he didn’t meet minimum speed and was unable to finish the race. Johnson placed 32nd.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/ADAM'S POLISHES CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 8th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Alex Bowman led the charge for Hendrick Motorsports by starting in sixth. He edged to fifth three laps into the race but fell to eighth by the 11th lap.
- After the competition caution, Bowman moved back into sixth. He broke into the top five for a few seconds, but he fell to eighth by lap 35. With 24 laps left in the first stage, Bowman fell another spot to ninth.
- He slipped to 10th with 17 to go but pushed back to reclaim ninth a few laps later. Bowman took the extra stage point by crossing the finish line in ninth for the end of Stage 1.
- He jumped up a spot coming off pit road for the beginning of Stage 2. Ten laps into the stage, Bowman fell to 13th. He pitted for four tires when the third caution came out and he was back on the track in 21st.
- Bowman edged up to 18th several laps later. He bobbled in the middle of the pack for most of the second stage and finished it in 22nd.
- The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was in 24th when the sixth caution happened. It was less than a lap later when the seventh caution came out and allowed Bowman to move up to 20th.
- He moved into 14th place when the first red flag happened on lap 182. He remained in the same spot for the restart and moved past teammate William Byron for 13th on lap 192.
- Bowman restarted in sixth and moved up to fifth a short time later. When he restarted after the 10th caution, Bowman moved up to second after taking two tires on pit road. He and Byron were jockeying for first place and Bowman took the lead when the 11th caution came out.
- Bowman restarted in first but lost the lead with 22 laps to go. He was in fifth with less than 20 laps left in the race. Bowman fell to seventh, then eighth in the final 10 laps, which is how he ended the race.