HAMPTON, Ga. – Two Hendrick Motorsports teammates earned points at the end of Stage 1 Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the drivers continued pushing toward the front in Stage 2.
Chase Elliott once again led the way. After finishing Stage 1 in third, he went one better in Stage 2, taking the green checkered flag in the runner-up position.
That earned him nine more bonus race points.
Elliott was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to finish the stage inside the top 10, which is the cutoff for extra points in Stages 1 and 2.
Jimmie Johnson had worked his way farther into the top 10 until he was penalized for driving too fast on pit road during a green-flag stop midway through the segment. The resulting pass-through penalty put Johnson a lap down, and he finished Stage 2 in 15th.
Kasey Kahne also found himself a lap down in 16th at the end of Stage 2.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished the stage in the 27th position, three laps behind the leaders. In Stage 1, the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS experienced a tire going down in addition to a pit-road penalty that saw Earnhardt begin Stage 2 down two laps.
Sunday’s race will finish with a final, 155-lap stage.