BRISTOL, Tenn. – The first stage of racing is complete at Bristol Motor Speedway and Jimmie Johnson led his teammates to the green-checkered flag in fifth.
A strong pit stop at the competition caution put Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team in the top 10 for the restart. Even after getting stuck in the middle of some three-wide racing after the restart, Johnson recovered to earn six bonus points for his top-five finish.
Teammate Chase Elliott finished just behind him in sixth and earned five bonus points.
Kasey Kahne jumped four positions from where he started the race to finish 13th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished not far behind in 19th.
Kyle Larson won the stage.
Stage 2 will consist of another 125 laps before a 250-lap final segment.