SONOMA, Calif. -- The first road course race of the season brought a top-10 finish for Kasey Kahne -- and three top-13 finishes for Hendrick Motorsports.
Let's dive into what we learned at Sonoma Raceway.
KAHNE FINDS NINTH
Kahne started Sunday's race from just inside the top 20 in 19th, and found himself battling the handling of his No. 5 Great Clips/Shark Week Chevrolet SS for the early portions of the event.
“We started off pretty good and I just needed to be a little looser -- we were on the tight side," he explained. "So, we tried to loosen it up and for whatever reason it was the exact opposite. I got really tight then."
But once the car was dialed in, Kahne continued his push back toward the top 10.
"We came back there at the end I felt really good again," he said.
LATE CONTACT AFFECTS EARNHARDT
There's no question Dale Earnhardt Jr. had speed at Sonoma Raceway.
After the first practices of the weekend, he earned the Great Clips Fast Friday Award in Victory Lane. And he flashed that speed again on Sunday.
But late in the race as he was pushing forward inside the top 10, a competitor made contact with the No. 88 and knocked him out of the top 10.
Despite some tire rub, Earnhardt recovered in 12th place and gained one more position before the checkered flag to finish 11th.
CAUTION FLAG FLIES
Jimmie Johnson had a different pit strategy than many of his competitors Sunday at Sonoma.
And it appeared it would work to his benefit late in the race.
"We were OK," he said. "We had the same strategy as the No. 14 going and then we were coming in (to pit road) the next lap and the caution came out. It kind of hurt us there."
He was racing toward the top five before the caution, but restarted outside of the top 10 with 20 laps remaining following the yellow flag.
"We just kind of rode from there," he said.
Johnson ultimately finished 13th.