Earnhardt eighth, Martin and Johnson in top 20 at Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS – Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the top finisher among the Hendrick Motorsports lineup during Sunday’s KOBALT Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet crossed the line eighth to record his fifth top-10 finish at the 1.5-mile racetrack and improve seven spots in the driver standings to 10th. His teammates Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin earned spots inside the top 20. Jeff Gordon suffered a blown tire late in the race and finished 36th in his No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet. Gordon now ranks 19th in the driver standings.

Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet, took 16th and now ranks 12th in the driver standings. Martin drove his No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to an 18th-place finish and now ranks 11th in the standings.