CONCORD, N.C. -- Alex Bowman worked his way from the middle of the pack to race solidly inside the top five for most of Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, earning a fourth-place result.
Bowman was outside the top 10 for only 25 laps of the 260-lap event and was inside the top five for over 200 laps after starting 17th at the porous track. Sunday's finish marks his sixth top-five finish of the year.
Pole sitter Chase Elliott was shortly behind Bowman and crossed the finish line in seventh place. Teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron placed 18th and 20th, respectively.
Kurt Busch won the race.
Take a look below to see how the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 18th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Larson rolled off the grid sixth and dropped three spots to ninth by the fifth lap. He battled back up and settled again in sixth by the competition caution.
- Larson broke into the top five on the restart and edged to fourth by lap 37. He slipped back to eighth on the next lap but edged to seventh with 20 laps to go in the first segment. Larson settled in sixth before the end of the first stage.
- The Elk Grove, California, native pitted for tires and fuel between the stages and restarted eighth after losing two spots on put road. He dropped to 10th by lap 88 and bobbed back and forth between the positions.
- Larson broke into the top five by lap 105 after stating his car was driving better than it had in the first stage. After pitting on lap 121 he came back out in seventh once the pit cycle passed. Less than 20 laps later, Larson was back in the top five and edged to fourth before the end of stage two.
- The 28-year-old driver restarted in the same spot for the final stage. A red flag with less than 100 laps to go stalled the cars. When racing resumed, Larson was fourth when he pitted but was hit with a speeding penalty for going to fast entering pit road.
- He was 21st with 45 laps left and was up to 19th 30 laps later. Larson finished the race up a spot in 18th.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 A SHOC CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 7th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott started on the pole after winning at Road America. He was battling for the lead spot 14 laps in and fell to second. Ten laps later, he fell to third place after he was passed before the competition caution.
- Elliott overshot the box during the break, resulting in a penalty. He restarted 19th and dropped to 22nd before the second caution dropped on lap 30. After the restart, Elliott started to slowly edge up the field and was 19th by the end of stage one.
- He was 20th for the start of stage two but started to pick off the field out of the gates. He was up to 15th 18 laps into the stage. He was 14th when the green-flag pit stops began and opted to pit with the leaders. Elliott was 16th when the field cycled through and finished the stage in 15th.
- The Dawsonville, Georgia, native started to move up the leaderboard as the third stage progressed. He was eighth with 71 laps to go and moved into seventh a short time later. Elliott finished the race in the same spot.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 20th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron began the race in 19th and edged up two spots 10 laps into the race. He slowly started moving up the field and was 15th by the competition caution on lap 25.
- Byron restarted 11th and settled in 10th by lap 40. He moved up the ninth with less than 30 laps left in the first stage and moved to eight before the stage ended.
- The 23-year-old driver gained a spot off pit road between the stages and restarted seventh. He kicked off the green-flag pit stop on lap 119 and settled in ninth shortly after the field cycled through their stops. He was 12th by the second stage break.
- Byron jumped up two spots and restarted 10th for stage three. His adjustments left his car too tight and Byron started to tumble down the leaderboard. With 30 laps left, he was riding in 16th and continued to slip further. Byron finished the race in 20th place.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 4th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman started 17th and started moving up the field within the first 10 laps. Right before the competition caution on lap 25 he broke into the top 10.
- After a second caution and restarted, Bowman jumped to ninth. He took the inside line and sidedrafted to shoot up the fifth halfway through the stage. Soon he was battling for third and took the position by lap 54. He dropped to fourth by the end of stage one.
- Bowman restarted stage two in fourth after pitting under yellow. Soon he was battling for third place, claimed it and quickly moved to second by lap 96. Fifteen laps later, Bowman fell back to third and pitted with the leaders. He was fifth when the cycle of stops was through and moved to third by lap 140, finishing the stage in that spot.
- The Tucson, Arizona, native restarted in third place for the final stage. He rode hard in that position for the majority of stage three but slipped to fourth with 21 laps left in the race. Bowman placed fourth to earn his sixth top-five result of the year.