AVONDALE, Ariz. – The fourth race of the season brought one top-five and one top-10 finish for Hendrick Motorsports.
The No.5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS raced consistently in the top 10 all day, and Kasey Kahne finished the race with a top-five position in fourth.
"We have had momentum all season," Kahne said. "We ran in the top-10 with cars that could finish in the top-five each week. I am really happy about our Farmers Insurance team."
Jeff Gordon started the race in the 10th position and continuously stayed near the top 10. The No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS ran near the front all day and eventually ended the race ninth.
Jimmie Johnson raced hard with his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet SS. He was involved in an incident that brought out the first caution of the day and sent him to restart in the back of the pack. From there, Johnson brought his car back to the top 10, but was involved in another incident, this time on pit road. He did not let that deter him and eventually crossed the finish line 11th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was involved in an incident that sent his No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS into the wall and eventually back to the garage. After heavy damage, he was with a 43rd-place finish.
Kevin Harvick took home the victory, giving Hendrick Motorsports engines and chassis a third win in four races.
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 4th
STANDINGS: 4th
RECAP: Kahne made his 400th career Cup start in the ninth position. On Lap 2, a caution waved and Kahne was already up to the sixth position. After the restart, Kahne jumped into the top five and eventually moved into third after the second caution of the day on Lap 15. On Lap 40, he moved back to the fifth position. When the third caution came out, Kahne brought his No. 5 Chevrolet SS in for four tires, fuel, and adjustments and restarted sixth. On Lap 99, he was back in the top five. The fourth caution came out on Lap 116 and after taking four tires, while many other drivers opted for two, Kahne restarted 11th, but quickly moved back into the top 10. He remained there until teammate Johnson passed him for the 10th position, pushing him back to 11th on Lap 155. After the fifth caution of the day, Kahne once again restarted in the top 10 on Lap 191. He remained in the top 10 after another caution on Lap 227, restarting seventh. Kahne stayed in the top 10 for the rest of the race and eventually finished fourth.
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 9th
STANDINGS: 25th
RECAP: Gordon started the race in the 10th position, just behind teammate Kahne. Gordon remained in that positon through the first caution and by the time the second caution came out, he was in the 12th position. On Lap 24 Gordon moved back into the top 10 and eventually to the ninth position on Lap 47. During the third caution of the day on Lap 66, his No. 24 Chevrolet SS took four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment and restarted in the 10th position. After the fourth caution came out on Lap 116, Gordon restarted in the 14th position but quickly moved to the 11th position on Lap 134. He made his way back into the top 10, running in eighth on Lap 158, with teammate Johnson in his rear-view mirror. When Gordon restarted after the fifth caution of the day on Lap 191, he entered the top five and was in the fourth position on Lap 199. After another caution on Lap 227, Gordon raced off of pit road and restarted third. Gordon kept his car near the front and finished the race with his first top-10 result of the season in ninth.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 11th
STANDINGS: 7th
RECAP: Johnson started the race in the 20th position. On Lap 2, Johnson was involved in an incident that brought out the first caution of the day. Crew chief Chad Knaus brought the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet SS down pit road to assess the damage, and Johnson made it back to the track to restart in the 41st position. He didn't stay there long and was back in the top 20 by Lap 40 in the 18th position. When the third caution of the day came out on Lap 66, Johnson was running in the 13th position. During the caution he took four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment and restarted 10th, bringing him to the top 10 for the first time of the day. Johnson remained in the top 10 until the fourth caution on Lap 116, where he restarted 13th. On Lap 155, Johnson made it back into the top 10, with teammate Kahne in the rear-view mirror and Gordon just in front of him. After the fifth caution of the day, Johnson moved back behind Kahne in 11th. During another caution on Lap 227, Johnson was involved in an incident on pit road that resulted in him making two separate pit stops and restarting 27th. By lap 251 he had moved up eight positions to 18th. Johnson kept moving up the rest of the race and ended the day 11th.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 43rd
STANDINGS: 6th
RECAP: Earnhardt began the race in the 16th position and after the first caution on Lap 2 he was up to 13th. By the third caution, he was in the 11th position and brought his No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS down pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Earnhardt restarted 13th and quickly gained a position. On Lap 116 the fourth caution flag waved and after a penalty on pit road, Earnhardt restarted 28th. He did not stay there long and was in the 22nd position by lap 158. On Lap 181, Earnhardt brought out a caution after an incident involving his right-rear tire, and he brought his No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS into the garage to work on the damage. Earnhardt was eventually scored 43rd.