BROOKLYN, Mich. – Chase Elliott led his Hendrick Motorsports teammates to the checkered flag in second Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, earning his fifth top-five of the season.
It marked Elliott's third consecutive runner-up finish at Michigan in just his third career NASCAR Cup Series race at the track.
"I’m really proud of our NAPA Chevy team, from where we started today and where we ended up, I was really proud of the effort and I really think we overachieved today from what we had," Elliott said.
Teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson utilized pit road strategies to earn top-10 finishes on the same row. They finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
Kasey Kahne took the checkered flag in 21st.
Kyle Larson won the race.
"We put ourselves in position to kind of rely on some late-race restarts, had a couple opportunities to get the lead and unfortunately it just didn’t work out but we’ll move on," Elliott said. "Congrats to Kyle, he had a fast car today and we’ll try to go get them next week."
Below is a detailed recap of how the teammates fared in Sunday’s race at Michigan. Additionally, here are closer looks at Stage 1 and Stage 2.
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 21st
RECAP: Rolling off the grid 16th, Kahne gained four positions in the first 60 laps of the race, finishing Stage 1 in 12th. He managed to stay inside the top 15 for the majority of a caution-less Stage 2. However, a green-flag pit stop with five laps to go caused Kahne to lose some track position, finishing the second stage in 16th. He restarted the final segment inside the top 10 in ninth, but complained of issues with a left-rear vibration. Kahne and the No. 5 Farmers Insurance team had to pit twice during the caution at Lap 51 due to a pit gun issue. They also had to remount the left rear tire. He restarted in 23rd and moved to 16th by lap 165. During a caution with 21 laps to go, Kahne opted not to pit and restarted in 11th with 16 laps to go. The team chose to pit for right-side tires and fuel during a caution with 14 to go and restarted 23rd at the green flag. After the final caution of the race, Kahne restarted in 13th but ultimately finished the race in 21st.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 2nd
RECAP: Elliott started the race in 10th and stayed within the top 10, ending Stage 1 in eighth, earning three bonus points. Elliott stayed inside the top 10 for Stage 2, finishing ninth and earning two more bonus points. He restarted the final stage in eighth and worked his way inside the top five by the first caution of the stage. A fast pit stop and successful restart led Elliott inside the top three in third. He stayed inside the top five all the way up to the final caution with 21 laps to go. Elliott and the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS team worked their way up to the second position when a caution with 14 laps to go hit the track. Going back to green in third with five laps to go, Elliott had another successful restart and pushed his way back up to second position, which is where he took the checkered flag.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 10th
RECAP: Johnson qualified in 13th, but started the race at the rear of the field after moving to a backup car during a practice. He quickly moved his way up through the pack to finish 10th in Stage 1, earning one bonus point. Johnson restarted the second stage in 15th but finished the stage in 21st as he reported he was battling his car's handling. He rallied in the final stage and worked his way back inside the top 20 with 50 laps to go. Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet team had a fast pit stop and restarted one spot ahead of where the driver came down pit road in 16th. Not long after the restart, he jumped back into the top 10. With 21 to go, Johnson pitted during a caution for four tires. He restarted 19th with 15 laps to go after pitting for four tires. With four laps to go, Johnson raced his way up to ninth and fell to 10th as the checkered flag flew.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 9th
RECAP: After starting the race 17th, Earnhardt jumped inside of the top 15 to finish Stage 1 in 15th. He restarted Stage 2 in 13th, staying consistently inside the top 15 for most of the stage, earning a 12th-place finish. After restarting the final stage in 19th, Earnhardt and the No. 88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet team rallied, using pit road strategy to work their way through the field. After a caution with 51 laps to go in the stage, a successful two-tire pit stop led Earnhardt to gain eight spots on pit road. He restarted third and held steady in the position even after not getting up to speed quickly on the outside lane. Earnhardt fell to 12th with 25 to go but a caution with 21 laps to go allowed him to pit for two right-side tires, adjustments and fuel. Another caution came out as a competitor's car spun, and Earnhardt was scored 19th with eight laps to go. A strong restart led him to finish the race inside the top 10 in ninth. It marked his third top-10 of the season.