CONCORD, N.C. – After 600 miles Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, all four Hendrick Motorsports teammates crossed the finish line in the top 10.
Chase Elliott led the contingent to the checkered flag in fourth, taking home his fourth consecutive top-five finish.
He was followed by Alex Bowman in seventh, Jimmie Johnson in eighth and William Byron in ninth.
Martin Truex Jr. won the race.
Below is a closer look at how the four Hendrick Motorsports teammates fared at Charlotte.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 4th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott began Sunday’s race just outside the top 10 in 12th, but in fewer than 10 laps he had moved into 10th. He fell outside of the top 15 as he was shuffled in traffic midway through the opening stage, and he was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road during a caution. Returning to the track in 30th, he quickly got to work, finding the top 10 once again by Lap 81. He advanced five more positions down the stretch to finish Stage 1 in fourth, picking up seven extra points.
- In Stage 2, Elliott continued to battle inside the top 10 until Lap 130, when the No. 9 team elected to keep the NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the track during a caution. That allowed Elliott to move into the race lead. Once he was caught by cars on fresher tires, however, he dropped back outside of the top 15 before heading to pit road during another caution. On the ensuing restart, he quickly raced back up to seventh, and by the end of the segment he moved into fourth place to once again gain seven extra points.
- The No. 9 team kept Elliott on the track between stages, setting him up to begin the third segment on the front row in second. He held steady in that position until late in the segment, when he settled into third with 20 laps to go. Elliott was running third when Stage 3 came to a close, earning eight additional points.
- Elliott won the battle off of pit road before the start of the final segment, taking the green flag as the race leader as the crowd roared. He held the lead at the green flag, and through multiple restarts following cautions as the laps wound down. With just more than 50 laps to go, Elliott fell to second and continued to battle there until a caution with 40 laps to go. He returned from pit road still in second, but on the restart got caught in the middle of three-wide racing and fell to sixth. Following a caution, he restarted fifth with five laps to go, passing one more competitor to cross the finish line in fourth.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 9th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The youngest pole-sitter in the history of the 600-mile race, Byron held the lead for the first 26 laps of the race before losing the position leaving pit road during a caution. He maintained a top-five position, however, for the majority of the remainder of the opening segment. Due to varying pit strategies, Byron found himself 12th for a restart on Lap 78 before once again powering forward back inside the top 10. Down the stretch he settled into sixth place, and that’s where he would take the green-checkered flag at the end of Stage 1, earning five extra points.
- Byron raced inside the top five for the vast majority of the second segment. Running fourth when a caution flag waved on Lap 162, quick work by the No. 24 team allowed the driver to return to the track as the race leader. Though he lost the lead, he maintained his top-five spot for the remainder of the segment, finishing Stage 2 in fifth to pick up six extra points.
- Byron won the race off pit road prior to the start of the third segment, but he took the green flag in ninth as the first eight cars did not pit. On the restart, he fell just outside of the top 10 and settled into 12th. He battled between 12th and 13th for much of the remainder of the segment, finishing Stage 3 in 13th.
- Starting the final segment in ninth, Byron moved up to eighth early on before dropping back to 15th following multiple restarts following cautions. He continued to battle, and following a caution with 40 laps to go, jumped back inside the top 10. Byron held strong down the stretch, and on a restart with five laps to go lined up 10th. He picked up one more position before the checkered flag, finishing ninth.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 8th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Johnson rolled off the grid 15th Sunday evening, and he battled just outside the top 10 until midway through the opening segment. He found 10th on a restart just past the halfway point, and while he dropped back to 14th for a restart shortly thereafter due to varying pit strategies, he moved back into 10th with 10 laps to go in Stage 1. He continued to climb, gaining two more positions before the green-checkered flag waved, picking up three extra point with his eighth-place stage finish.
- Just nine laps into Stage 2, Johnson had advanced to the fourth position, and he continued to race in and around the top five for the first half of the segment. On Lap 171 following a caution, Johnson fell to sixth, and 18 laps later he had been shuffled back in traffic to 10th. Just before the green-checkered flag waved to end Stage 2, the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 dropped to 11th, narrowly missing out on stage points.
- Johnson did not head to pit road between stages and took the green flag to start the third segment in sixth. He maintained a top-10 position early in the stage, but fell outside of the top 15 as he battled the handling of his No. 48 Ally Chevy in traffic. After an adjustment on pit road, Johnson reported that the handling had improved, and he battled back up to 11th before the end of Stage 3.
- Taking the green flag for the final segment in 11th, Johnson dropped to 13th with 86 laps remaining, and though he briefly fell to 14th, he retook 13th with 66 to go. He continued to battle, and following a caution with 40 laps to go, he jumped inside the top 10. He found seventh with 30 laps remaining, but made slight contact with the wall with 15 laps to go. The contact caused him to lose one position, and following a pit stop he lined up eighth for a restart with five laps to go. He held the position through the checkered flag, finishing eighth.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 7th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Taking the green flag in 13th, Bowman battled outside of the top 10 for much of the opening segment of Sunday’s race. For a Lap 78 restart, however, the No. 88 team elected to keep Bowman on the track during the caution, allowing him to move up to second. He held a top-10 position for a number of laps before cars with fresher tires began to pass him, dropping him toward the back of the top 20. He headed to pit road during a caution and returned to the track in 27th with 10 laps remaining in the segment. He took advantage of fresh tires to advance all the way to 14th by the end of Stage 1.
- In Stage 2, Bowman fell outside of the top 15 in the early goings, but it didn’t take him long to jump inside the top 10 by Lap 116. He continued to climb the race standings as the laps wound down in the second segment until a caution flag flew on Lap 189 with Bowman in third. The No. 88 team made the call to stay out on the track, giving Bowman the race lead for the final restart of the stage. Though he lost the lead, he held on to finish Stage 2 as the runner-up, gaining nine extra points.
- The No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was the second one off of pit road prior to the start of the third segment, but the first eight cars did not pit, so Bowman lined up 10th to take the green flag. He used the position to his advantage, maintaining a top-10 position as he continued to climb through the field. With 20 laps to go in Stage 3, he moved into fifth, but he ultimately finished the segment just outside of the top five in sixth to pick up five extra points.
- Beginning the final segment in seventh, Bowman moved up to sixth on a restart with 86 laps remaining in the race. With 68 laps to go, he had settled into 10th, but was forced to make a green-flag pit stop a little ahead of schedule due to a tire issue. He fell a lap down when a caution flag waved shortly thereafter, but the No. 88 team took a wave-around to return to the lead lap outside of the top 15 with fewer than 40 laps remaining. As the laps wound down, Bowman worked to gain positions, lining up 14th for a restart with five laps to go. He raced forward to take the checkered flag in seventh.