CONCORD, N.C. -- It was an up-and-down day for the Hendrick Motorsports drivers at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, but the organization earned three top-10 finishes at the 1-mile track, including a fifth-place result by Chase Elliott.
The day started with Elliott, Kyle Larson and William Byron all starting from the rear due to pre-race inspection issues. Elliott was sent the rear again and Larson had to restart from the back of the field twice during the race due to speeding infractions on pit road. Despite this, all three drivers placed inside the top 10.
“We had a good car; ran in the top-10 all day and it just kind of ended there in eighth,” Byron said after the race. “We’ve got some things we need to work on when we come back, but we definitely know the areas to work on and improve. So, we just have to go to work on those things. (I’m) looking forward to it and looking forward to the challenge.”
Byron’s eighth-place finish was his third top-10 result in a row, matching his previous NASCAR Cup Series record.
Larson echoed Byron’s sentiments and lauded his fast HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. He got loose toward the end of the race, which forced him out of the top five and relegated him to a seventh-place finish and his fourth top-10 of the season.
“I got loose in and just couldn’t get in the corners as aggressive as I needed to,” Larson said. “I ended up guarding my entry zones; my angles for exit aren’t great. It just kind of made everything harder. … It was weird that I hadn’t had it all day, but all-in-all, I had a really fast car again. That’s very promising and just have to clean up mistakes on my end and have a smoother race.”
Alex Bowman was happy with his speedy car as he worked his way through the field at the beginning of the race. He started 21st and was 18th when another car made contact with him before the competition caution and sent him into the wall. Despite this, Bowman still climbed the leaderboard and finished the race 13th.
“Definitely solid, all things considered with the whole left side wiped out,” Bowman said. “We had to overcome damage. We had a fast car, but the left side damage didn’t help the pit crew on stops. (Crew chief) Greg (Ives) made great changes on pit road to help the handling changes.”
The four drivers will have another chance to notch the organization’s third win of the season this Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Coverage for the race begins at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.