CONCORD, N.C. – Kyle Larson and the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team are back to their winning ways.
In just the 23rd race this season, Larson captured his fifth win driving for Hendrick Motorsports. The victory was his first and the organization’s ninth victory at Watkins Glen International.
“Hats off to HendrickCars.com,” Larson stated after taking the checkered flag. “Thanks for everything you guys do for me, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, Cliff Daniels, this whole (No.) 5 bunch. Another amazing car. I could tell from about lap three after I stopped making a bunch of mistakes that we were going to have a car that could win today.”
Larson’s race-winning strategy came into picture after the team’s final pit stop, which took place with 33 laps remaining. He overtook the top spot at lap 65 of 90 and held off a hard-charging Chase Elliott for the win.
Elliott and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team overcame adversity after starting the race from the rear of the field due to pre-race inspection issues, but a fast No. 9 Chevrolet placed him in the hunt for the victory, almost eliminating an 11-plus second deficit.
“Super proud of our team,” stated Elliott after the race. “Been kind of an uphill battle all day, but everybody was just super prepared coming into the day, and our NAPA team just did a really good job of fighting it.”
This is the fourth time this year that Larson and Elliott have finished first and second, respectively. Additionally, this is the 48th time the organization swept the top-two spots, which includes five times this season.
William Byron tied his best road-course finish with his sixth-place effort, scoring his 15th top-10 finish of the season. Alex Bowman rounded out the Hendrick Motorsports brigade with a 20th-place finish.
Take a look below to see how the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared at Watkins Glen International.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 1st
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- After rolling off the grid in the fourth position, Larson advanced one spot to third and maintained that position until the leader spun on lap 10, bringing out the race’s first caution. Larson moved to second and stayed on track during the caution period. He then restarted on the front row, settled into the second spot and maneuvered around the seven-turn road course trying to make a pass on then-leader Joey Logano through the end of the first stage.
- Opting to pit for four tires and fuel during the stage break, the Cliff Daniels-led team started stage two from 19th and was scored 13th during the second caution period at lap 25. Larson stayed on track during the slowdown and set sailed from his 11th-place restart position. He cracked the top 10 at lap 30, was seventh at lap 33, slid into fifth at lap 39 and ended stage two in fourth.
- Larson and Daniels chose not to pit during the break and began the final stage in fourth. The Elk Grove, California, native moved to third on the ensuing lap and found himself in the runner-up spot after a front runner spun off track.
- Larson made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 57 and returned to the road course in 10th. From there, his trek toward the front began, overtaking seventh at lap 60, fifth at lap 62, second at lap 63 and then the lead just three laps later. The HendrickCars.com driver led the remaining laps and captured his fifth win of the season.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 2nd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Due to inspection issues pre-race, Elliott surrendered his 11th-place starting position and had to start the 90-lap race from the rear of the field. By lap three, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native was scored 23rd and then cracked the top 20 by lap seven. He took advantage of the caution period at lap 11 and visited pit road for a routine four-tire pit stop and fuel, returning to competition 22nd.
- Elliott flexed his muscle and advanced four positions to 18th by lap 15. Varying pit strategies began at lap 17 when drivers in front of him began pitting, moving Elliott up the leaderboard to eighth at the conclusion of stage one.
- After pitting during the stage break, Elliott took the green flag for stage two in 26th and was running 23rd through lap 30 before being forced to pit due to flat spotting his tires entering a turn. He returned to the track in 36th and was scored 33rd at the end of stage two.
- The NAPA AUTO PARTS team chose not to pit during the stage break, which placed Elliott 19th for the restart. The 2021 Cup Series champion worked his way up to 13th before competitors started making their scheduled green-flag pit stops. Elliott advanced to second before being summoned to pit road for his final pit stop of the race. He cycled to 10th at lap 63 and blew through the field over the ensuing seven laps.
- With 20 laps to go in the race, Elliott was scored third and 11 seconds behind teammate and leader Kyle Larson. He overtook second at lap 82 and cut his deficit by more than eight seconds but ultimately couldn’t catch Larson for the top spot and finished the race in second.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 6th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Taking the green flag from the 15th position, Byron leapfrogged seven spots in the early circuits of the 90-lap race, running eighth at lap three. The No. 24 team choose to keep Byron on track during the race’s first caution period and he restarted seventh on lap 13. Over the ensuing seven laps, the 2021 Homestead-Miami race winner notched two positions and took the green-white-checkered flag at the end of the first stage in fifth.
- A four-tire pit stop during the stage break placed Byron 22nd for the stage two restart. The 23-year-old driver cracked the top 20 during the race’s second caution period at lap 25 and went back to racing in 18th. With 10 laps to go in the second stage, Byron was scored 16th and jumped five spots to 11th by the time stage two came to a close.
- The Rudy Fugle-led crew did not pit during the stage break, which resulted in Byron lining up 10th for the race’s final stage. He jumped two spots on the restart before sliding into fourth at lap 56, which is when competitors began making their scheduled green-flag pit stops. Fugle called Byron to pit road two laps later and Byron returned to the racing surface in 16th.
- He quickly made up ground, moving into 13th one lap later, ninth at lap 63 and sixth on the next lap. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native cracked the top five at lap 67 and held that position until the closing laps when he lost one spot to finish the race in sixth.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 20th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Starting the season’s fifth road-course race from 10th, Bowman settled in eighth during the race’s first 11 laps with crew chief Greg Ives keeping him on track during the race’s first caution at lap 11. Bowman fell to 10th at lap 14 after the restart but quickly rebounded over the next six circuits, ending stage one in seventh.
- The Tucson, Arizona, native started stage two in the 33rd position after visiting his Ally pit crew for four tires and fuel during the stage break. He catapulted past competitors on the restart and found himself in 21st by lap 25. He moved into the top 20 with nine laps remaining in the stage and Bowman was able to improve his position by two spots to 18th before the second stage concluded.
- Ives opted to use the stage break to freshen up the Ally Chevrolet with four tires and fuel, leaving Bowman with a 33rd-place restart position. The three-time Cup Series race winner once again flexed his muscle on the restart and propelled himself up the leaderboard over the next 10 circuits. He moved into 27th at lap 44, 24th at lap 46, cracked the top 20 at lap 50 and was 17th at lap 55.
- Bowman was scored as high as eighth on lap 57 when competitors began making their scheduled green-flag pit stops and before making his final pit stop two laps later. He returned to competition running 25th and worked his way up to 17th at lap 70. Over the race’s final 20 laps, Bowman lost three positions before taking the checkered flag in 20th.