CONCORD, N.C. -- In an eventful race that saw two red flags in the final 10 laps, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott remained close to the front and placed third and fourth, respectively, at the inaugural event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
As the race wound down, the teams had to deal with a broken curb in turn five, oil on the track and multiple accidents. Through all that, Larson and Elliott battled to stay within the top five as incidents marred the race.
Alex Bowman finished 17th after dodging some of the accidents. He was able to keep his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE clean but lost spots trying to avoid disaster in the final laps.
William Byron ran strongly all day after winning the Busch Pole Award earlier Sunday morning. However, the aformentioned curb came off the pavement when he drove over it, causing massive damage that sent him spinning into the grass late in stage three. Unfortunately, Byron was unable to continue the race and finished 33rd.
AJ Allmendinger won the race.
Take a look below to see how all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared at the inaugural Cup Series event at the Indy road course.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 3rd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Larson rolled off the grid fourth and remained in that spot until lap 13 when he pitted. He returned to the track in 15th and cycled to 13th by the time stage one ended.
- The 29-year-old driver restarted stage two in third and quickly jumped to second behind teammate Chase Elliott on lap 24. He tailed Elliott until lap 33 when the duo pitted under green. Larson was 12th returning to the track and finished the stage ninth after he edged past Elliott in the final turn of stage two.
- Larson restarted in first place for stage three but was quickly hindered by a caution on lap 40. He took the green flag in first place again and remained in the lead until he pitted under green on lap 55. When the first round of stops cycled through, Larson was riding in 11th. The 10 cars in front of him that hadn’t visited pit road started to trickle off to get maintenance, which put Larson back in the top spot with 20 laps to go. He pitted during a caution with 10 laps left and returned to the track in fifth place.
- Larson was in a battle for third, took the position with six laps left and was in that spot when a red flag was dropped due to an accident. Larson edged to second after the red flag finally lifted and NASCAR overtime began. He was aggressive on the outside corner but lost spots and dropped to seventh before another caution waved from another accident.
- After the final restart, Larson moved up to third and was chasing down the first- and second-place drivers but was unable to overcome the distance. He finished third and now has 13 top-five results this season.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 4th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott started the race third and rode hard in that position until he pitted at the end of lap 13. He was 13th returning to the track and ended stage one in 10th place.
- Elliott restarted in second for stage two and quickly took the lead on lap 21. He maintained that spot until he pitted on lap 33 for four tires and fuel. Elliott returned to the track in 11th, maintaining his position on pit road. He battled teammate Kyle Larson in the final lap of the stage and placed 10th after Larson edged Elliott in the final turn of stage two.
- Elliott restarted in second place for the final stage and dropped a spot to teammate William Byron on lap 44. He relinquished that position when he took tires and fuel on lap 55, jumping ahead of Byron coming off pit road. He settled in 12th.
- The Dawsonville, Georgia, native started to edge up the leaderboard as the cars in front of him began to pit and he was third by lap 64. Two laps later, he was in second place behind Larson. He pitted during the final caution but his No. 9 crew had trouble with the jack on pit road, causing him to lose spots.
- Elliott restarted 16th and began to gain momentum before an accident with 10 laps to go caused a red flag to drop. When racing resumed, Elliott had moved up to eighth and was quick to get up to fifth before the second red flag of the afternoon waved due to another accident. He restarted sixth and jumped to fourth in the final two laps, finishing there.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 33rd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron won the first Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course pole award and began the race in first place. He dropped to second by the second lap and remained in that position until he pitted on lap 13 and was 14th when he resumed racing. Two laps later, the first stage ended with Byron in 11th place.
- Byron started stage two in third but suffered a setback when he ran over a curb, dropping him to eighth. He moved to sixth by lap 23 and was up another spot by lap 29. He pitted under green on lap 22 for fresh tires and fuel before returning to the track in 15th. Three laps later, Byron was scored 13th after stage two ended.
- The 23-year-old driver took the stage three green flag in third place, making the top three spots Hendrick Motorsports drivers. Byron took second place from teammate Chase Elliott on lap 44 and remained in that position until he pitted on lap 55. He lost a spot to Elliott when they returned to the track, setting up in 13th place.
- As the field cycled through, Byron settled in fourth with 18 laps left in the race. He was up to third behind Larson and Elliott one lap later and followed his teammates to pit road when a yellow flag dropped on lap 72, eventually coming back out in sixth. He jumped to third on the restart and was battling Larson for the position. He settled in fourth before he was part of a massive accident due to a lifted curb. The incident caused a red flag, and Byron was unable to finish the race. He placed 33rd.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 17th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman started the race 24th and shifted to 22nd five laps in. He was up to 19th when he took a green-flag pit stop on lap 13, returning to the track in 31st. Bowman was 30th when the stage ended two laps later.
- The 28-year-old driver took the green flag for stage two in 17th and narrowly avoided another car spinning out on lap 24. He edged to 15th on the same lap and remained in that position until he pitted on lap 32 for four new tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Bowman crossed the finish line for stage two in 27th place.
- The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE began the final stage in 14th and edged to 12th before a yellow flag on lap 40 halted the race. He restarted 11th and was 10th by lap 44 and slipped in and out of the top 10 over the next 10 laps. Bowman jumped to eighth before some cars in front of him started pitting by lap 55. He quickly followed suit and returned to the track 18th.
- The Tucson, Arizona, native soon was 22nd with 25 laps to go. Bowman was up to 19th by lap 61, jumped to 11th five laps later and was 10th with less than 15 laps left in the race. When a yellow flag dropped five laps later, Bowman pitted with most of the field and was 12th when racing resumed.
- Less than one lap passed before cars started spinning out in front of Bowman and caused a red flag, which allowed him to move to 11th. He restarted in eighth after another red flag halted the race but was shuffled back to 17th once the field was green as he dodged incidents on the track. Bowman finished the race in that position.