LOUDON, N.H. – After a rain delay that spanned more than three hours, Chase Elliott led his Hendrick Motorsports teammates to checkered flag Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished inside the top 15, with Elliott taking home a top-five result.
On the way to a fifth-place finish, Elliott led 23 laps and earned a Stage 2 win, his first stage win of the season.
“I hope we can keep it rolling because that was really nice to be able to go up there and lead some laps," Elliott said. "I know it wasn’t in the right part of the race but still, leading laps for us is big. Proud of the effort, appreciate everybody’s effort back at Hendrick; chassis shop, engine shop, Chevrolet, all the folks that are working hard to try to get better. I hope that we took a step in the right direction.”
Jimmie Johnson was the next teammate to take the checkered flag, joining Elliott in the top 10 in 10th.
Alex Bowman and William Byron were next to the finish line, finishing in 11th and 14th, respectively.
Kevin Harvick captured the victory.
Below is a closer look at how the four Hendrick Motorsports teammates fared Sunday afternoon.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 5th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Rolling off the grid 10th, Elliott gained two positions in the opening laps to move to eighth by Lap 15. The driver to continued to run inside the top 10 in the ensuing laps, eventually moving into seventh by Lap 50.
- Out of a Lap 53 caution, Elliott moved into the top five and by Lap 62, he worked his way all the up to second. He held his position through the end of Stage 1, finishing the opening segment second to earn nine extra points.
- In Stage 2, consistent racing saw Elliott maintain his second-place position through Lap 131 of the middle segment. On Lap 132, Elliott made a successful move on the leader to move into first, leading the final 19 laps of the segment en route to a Stage 2 victory. It was Elliott’s first stage win of the season and the result earned him 10 extra points and one playoff point.
- Elliott narrowly lost his lead on the race off pit road between stages, taking the restart for the final segment in second. He continued to run inside the top five for much of the final segment, settling in to fourth by Lap 211 and keeping that position for several laps.
- Elliott was able to stay in fourth out of a caution with fewer than 50 laps to go, and he stayed inside the top five for the remainder of the race to take home a fifth-place finish.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 14th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Starting 11th, Byron initially lost four positions and was in 15th by Lap 15. He was shuffled outside the top 20 into 24th by Lap 32, but he was able to gain positions to move back into 17th by Lap 50. He gained two additional positions out of a Lap 53 caution, ultimately finishing the opening segment inside the top 15 in 14th.
- On the restart to begin Stage 2, Byron gained a position and was running 13th on Lap 83. He settled into 15th by Lap 101, maintaining the top-15 position for several laps in the middle segment. Byron moved down to 17th by Lap 131 and was shuffled down three more positions toward the end of the segment, finishing Stage 2 just inside the top 20 in 20th.
- In the final segment, Byron steadily worked his way back through the field, gaining five positions and running 15th by Lap 167. The driver stayed around the top 15 through the middle of the segment, and by Lap 240 he moved up to 12th.
- Byron was shuffled down to 14th with less than 40 laps to go, ultimately holding that position to take the checkered inside the top 15 in 14th.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PROS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 10th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Johnson started the day in 21st, but the driver gained five spots within the first 10 laps to move into 16th. During a caution several laps later, Johnson elected to head to pit road on Lap 21 for fresh tires. Though he initially fell to 29th when the race returned to green on Lap 25, four fresh tires helped the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pass competitors and move his way back inside the top 20. At the Lap 35 competition caution, Johnson was in 19th.
- Johnson stayed on track during the competition caution and jumped all the way into second by Lap 40. He continued to race inside the top five for the remainder of the opening segment, finishing in third and picking up eight points in the process.
- Out of the caution between stages, Johnson fell back to sixth when the race returned to green on Lap 83. The driver battled throughout Stage 2 to stay inside the top 10, finishing the middle segment in eighth and earning three more points.
- Johnson briefly fell outside the top 10 in the final segment and was running 13th by Lap 167, but the driver was able to work his way back through the field. He was in 10th by Lap 211, and he was up to seventh by Lap 240. As the laps wound down, Johnson battled to hold his top-10 position, finishing in 10th.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
FINISHED: 11th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Leading his teammates to the green flag in eighth, Bowman held his position inside the top 10 at the beginning of the stage, running as high as seventh by Lap 19. Out of the Lap 35 competition caution, Bowman was shuffled down to 13th, ultimately falling to 22nd by Lap 50. The driver kept battling in the final laps of Stage 1 and finished 24th.
- Bowman picked up two positions out of the caution between stages to move into 22nd by Lap 83. Six laps later, he gained two more positions to move into 20th. He settled into 22nd by Lap 101, ultimately holding that position to finish Stage 2 in 22nd.
- After racing around the top 20 for much of the first part of the final segment, Bowman gained six positions from Lap 228 to Lap 236 to move from 22nd to 16th. He gained another three positions to move into 13th by Lap 240. The driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 continued to move closer toward the top 10, moving into 11th with under 30 laps to go. He continued in that position as the laps wound down, taking home an 11th-place result.