CONCORD, N.C. -- Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman clinched a position in the Round of 12 during Saturday night's playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Elliott earned his berth at the end of Stage 2 when he finished third in that segment. Overall, Elliott ended the race in seventh. Bowman secured his berth toward the end of Stage 3 and placed 16th overall at Bristol.
Jimmie Johnson finished the third playoff race right behind Bowman in 17th. William Byron sustained a large amount of damage to the front of his car in the second stage after he came up on a slowed car, which prematurely ended his night and his playoff hopes. He placed 38th.
Kevin Harvick won the race.
Take a look below to see how the third playoff race of the season shook out for the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 7th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott began the race in sixth and was up to fourth within the first four laps. He remained in that position until he edged up to third by lap 87.
- Elliott took over second on lap 93 and surged to first less than 15 laps later. He led the field for the remainder of Stage 1, clinching 10 stage points.
- The No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driver restarted in fourth for the second stage and moved into third within one lap. He quickly moved to second and rode that position until lap 217 when he got caught in lap traffic and fell to third.
- When the second caution of the race occurred, Elliott headed to pit road. He was fourth coming out and soon was back in third. Stage 2 ended under caution with Elliott ending the stage in the same position.
- With his third-place finish in Stage 2, Elliott officially clinched his spot in the Round of 12. He restarted in sixth and quickly moved to third by the 277th lap. He pitted right before the caution came out on lap 407, which forced him to restart in 13th.
- Elliott was up to 11th with 72 laps left in the race. With 49 laps left in the race, he was up to ninth. He was in seventh with 17 to go and rode out that position until the end of the race.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 38th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron rolled off the grid in 15th and quickly moved into 13th by lap 10. He was in 11th when the first caution of the race came out.
- On the restart, Byron fell back to 15th. He moved into 11th a short time later and was in 10th during lap 90. Byron placed eighth in Stage 1 after weaving in and out of the top 10, earning valuable stage points.
- Byron restarted in seventh for Stage 2 but was down to ninth by lap 157. He was unable to avoid hitting a slowed car with less than 20 to go in the second stage. Byron sustained a large amount of damage to the front of his car, ending his night early and placing him in 38th.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 17th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Johnson started the race in 24th. Twelve laps in, he was in 16th. Johnson had his rear panel tapped by another competitor on lap 29, which contributed to the first caution of the race. His No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE had little damage, but he still pitted on lap 35 and restarted the race in 29th.
- By lap 79, Johnson was riding in 21st. He edged into the top 20 11 laps later and finished Stage 1 in 14th.
- Johnson moved into 13th shortly after the Stage 2 restart. He slipped up to 12th 35 laps into the second stage. He soon slipped up another position to 11th and was in ninth by lap 210.
- The seven-time Cup Series champion went to pit road after a yellow flag halfway through the second stage and had some damage kinked out. He restarted in 17th and ended the second stage in 15th.
- Johnson was in 13th a few laps into Stage 3. He was up to 11th by lap 312 and moved into seventh by lap 343.
- With 140 to go, Johnson was riding in sixth place. He headed to pit road right before a caution came out on lap 407, which caused Johnson to restart in 21st.
- With less than 15 laps left in the race, Johnson moved into 17th. He kept that spot until the checkered flag waived at the end of the event.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 16th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman started the race in eighth and scooted up a spot to seventh within the first three laps. After the first caution, Bowman jumped to fifth on the 41st lap.
He fell back to sixth 10 laps later and was in eighth by lap 97. - Bowman jumped to sixth by lap 105 and was in fifth 15 laps later. Bowman moved up one more position to finish Stage 1 in fourth.
- Bowman restarted in second for the second stage. He fell to sixth by lap 152 and was in seventh halfway through the stage. He moved backed into sixth before Stage 2 ended.
- The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was in sixth again after the third stage started. He pitted on lap 288 after he felt a severe vibration in his car. He returned to the track in 27th.
- Bowman moved up to 22nd by lap 393 and was in 20th when the caution on lap 407 occurred. He returned to the track in 19th. Despite his positioning, he clinched the next round of the playoffs with less than 30 laps left in the race.
- Bowman edged to 16th with 15 laps to go and kept that spot until the end of the race.