BRISTOL, Tenn. – A day after inclement weather postponed Sunday’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway 204 laps into the race, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman led their Hendrick Motorsports teammates to the checkered flag Monday afternoon with a pair of top-five finishes.
After starting in the rear, Johnson moved his way through the field to take the No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 home with a third-place result. Bowman captured his first career Cup Series top-five result, finishing the day fifth.
"It really is a great boost," Johnson said. "I’ve said for weeks now that we’re getting better and it’s great to finally have a result to back that up. We were able to pull through and get a great third place finish. So, I’m very proud of everybody at Hendrick Motorsports and thank everybody on this Lowe’s For Pros team."
William Byron captured a 18th-place result, with Chase Elliott finishing 29th after being involved in a multiple-car incident early in the race.
Kyle Busch took the checkered flag as the winner.
Below is a closer look at how all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared at Bristol.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 MOUNTAIN DEW BAJA BLAST CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 29th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Starting 16th, Elliott was involved in a multiple-car incident on Lap 4, and the resulting damage sent him to pit road multiple times for repairs. Hard work by the No. 9 team allowed him to return to the track to finish Stage 1 in 37th down multiple laps to the leader.
- Elliott continued to work to gain as many positions as possible and was in 33rd, 22 laps behind the leader, when the race was postponed after 204 laps.
- When the race resumed Monday afternoon, Elliott kept fighting and gained another position the finish Stage 2 in 32nd.
- Elliott battled down the stretch in the final segment and gained three additional spots to finish the day in 29th.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 18th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Rolling off the grid 11th, Byron moved into the top 10 by Lap 16 and was in fifth by Lap 27. The driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was eventually shuffled outside the top 10 and finished Stage 1 in 18th.
- Out of the competition caution between stages, Byron jumped into 12th by Lap 134 and was running in the top five in fifth when the third red flag of the day delayed the race at Lap 165.
- He was shuffled down to 17th later in the stage after a restart, but the driver gained a couple positions back to 15th when the race was postponed after Lap 204. When the race resumed, Byron continued to regain positions and moved closer to the top 10, finishing Stage 2 in 12th.
- After dropping to 17th out of the caution between stages, Byron gained back three positions and was running in 14th by Lap 289. The driver continued inside the top 20 for much of the final segment of the race, running 20th on Lap 399.
- Byron gained two additional positions and finished the day in 18th.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PROS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 3rd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Starting at the rear of the field, Johnson got to work early and moved inside the top 20 within the first 10 laps. The driver kept moving his way through the field and finished Stage 1 in seventh and earned four points for the result.
- Johnson moved up to third by Lap 149 and raced inside the top 10 for much of the middle segment. After briefly falling out of the top 10 after a restart, he moved his way back up to eighth, running in that position when the race was red flagged after 204 laps.
- When the race picked up Monday afternoon, Johnson moved up four spots into fourth and raced as high as second shortly after the green flag waved. The driver continued near the top of the field to finish Stage 2 in third, earning eight points for the result.
- In the final segment, Johnson moved into second out of the caution between stages and briefly took the lead on Lap 266. He remained inside the top five for a majority of the final segment, but after a caution on Lap 353, he dropped to seventh.
- Johnson battled back to regain his top-five position and moved all the way up to third before the checkered flag waved.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 5th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Leading his teammates to the green flag in eighth, Bowman raced inside the top 10 for much of the first segment and was running as high as sixth by Lap 40. He slipped outside of the top 10 later in the stage, finishing Stage 1 in 16th.
- Out of the competition caution between stages, Bowman moved back into the top 10 into eighth by Lap 135 was running third when a red flag came out at Lap 165. He was shuffled down to 10th after the caution and was running 12th when the race was postponed due to rain.
- When the race continued, Bowman moved up four spots to break inside the top 10. He continued inside the top 10 for the rest of the middle segment to finish Stage 2 in seventh, earning four points for the result.
- In the final segment, the driver continued to push forward and moved into fifth by Lap 321. Bowman stayed inside the top 10 and was running in eighth by Lap 381. The driver cracked the top five once again out of a caution with less than 30 laps in the race and ultimately took home his first career Cup Series top-five finish.