CONCORD, N.C. -- The doubleheader weekend at Michigan International Speedway saw Chase Elliott record two top-10 finishes. However, tough restarts and tight handling proved to be big issues for all four of the Hendrick Motorsports teams.
Elliott finished in seventh on Saturday and ninth Sunday. He said his Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE wasn't loose enough on Saturday and the issue persisted into Sunday's race.
"It was pretty tight, and we just weren’t able to improve the handling," Elliott said Sunday. "We squeaked by with a top-10 finish. All in all, it was a decent weekend, but we have some work to do."
Jimmie Johnson, who crossed the finish line in 12th on Saturday and 11th on Sunday, said "restarts hurt us" in the first race of the weekend.
"It was up and down all day fighting traffic and weird things happening on the restarts," Johnson said, adding that his Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was fast.
He said he was proud of the "good fight" the No. 48 team showed on Sunday.
Alex Bowman tried to improve from his 21st-place finish on Sunday but a flat-rear tire late in Sunday's race pushed him back to finish in 36th.
"It was just unfortunate events," Bowman said. "(Crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the guys made great adjustments from (Saturday). We battled some snug conditions, but the team made great adjustments on pit road."
William Byron posted two top-15 finishes over the weekend. While his 14th-place result on Saturday was from his machine being too tight, his 12th-place finish on Sunday helped with some wiggle room in the playoff standings.
"After this weekend, we came out of Michigan with a bit larger of a points gap than we started," Byron said. "Hopefully, we can go on to the road course at Daytona and keep building that point buffer."
Byron added he will go back to his iRacing roots and practice on his rig to prepare for the inaugural Daytona Road Course event on Sunday.
"I think we’re really good at road courses. Hopefully, we can run well there, despite it being an unknown," he said. "I’m looking forward to it and the challenge it will bring."