CONCORD, N.C. -- Chase Elliott led the charge for Hendrick Motorsports at Texas, placing 12th in the 500-mile race.
Elliott opted to pit with less than 35 laps left, but a bevy of cautions in the last 20 laps worked against Elliott and didn't allow him to climb his way up the field.
William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman all had on-track incidences that hindered their progress, and Byron and Bowman were forced to head to the garage early. Johnson finished the race in 26th, while Bowman and Byron placed 30th and 37th, respectively.
Austin Dillon won the race.
Below is a closer look at how the race at Texas Motor Speedway unfolded for the four Hendrick Motorsports teammates.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 12th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Chase Elliott was supposed to start in eighth but rolled off the grid from the rear due to inspection issues. By the second lap, he was riding in 33rd. Five laps later, he was in 29th.
- Elliott was in 25th by the 15th lap and moved up another spot to 24th when the competition caution came out. He was riding in 22nd for the restart and was in 18th by lap 36.
- Elliott was in the middle of the pack until lap 89, when he opted to stay out while a large chunk of the field pitted. This allowed him to move up to 10th. Just a lap later, Elliott pitted and came out in 25th. He shifted up to 18th and remained there for the end of Stage 1.
- Elliott stayed off pit road and restarted in sixth place. He remained in that position until he did decide to pit. He returned to the track in 28th and was in 21st halfway through the second stage. As the field started to cycle through, Elliott moved up to 11th. He jumped up to sixth with 20 laps to go and finished the stage in that spot.
- At the start of the final stage, Elliott inched up to fifth. He moved up to third after an accident occurred and a red flag was brought out. However, Elliott fell to fifth after the field went green.
- He dropped again to sixth but jumped up to fourth by the 241st lap. He moved up to third on the restart but fell to sixth by lap 260. He decided to pit on lap 290 and drove off pit road in 20th.
- Elliott started marching up the field and was riding in 15th with 17 laps left in the race. After a few cautions, he edged up to 12th and finished the race in that spot.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 37th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- William Byron rolled off the grid in 18th and was up to 15th by the second lap. He edged up another position by the eighth lap and was riding in 12th six laps later. Byron was still in 12th when the competition yellow dropped.
- Byron restarted in sixth behind teammate Alex Bowman. He shifted up to fifth less than a lap later. On lap 65, Byron jumped up to fourth place and inched up to third five laps later.
- On lap 89, Byron opted to pit, which put him in 15th. He moved up to 12th a couple of laps later and soon cycled up to fifth, which is how he ended Stage 1.
- Byron restarted in 10th but fell to 11th within the first lap of Stage 2. He soon was in 12th behind teammate Jimmie Johnson. By lap 158, Byron was riding in 14th. He soon pitted and came out in 29th. Byron started to move up the field and was in 25th halfway through Stage 2.
- With 28 to go in the second stage, Byron was riding in 20th. He moved up to 16th eight laps later and ended Stage 2 in that position.
- Byron got caught up in the accident at the start of Stage 3 and was completely turned around, but he managed to avoid major damage and keep moving. However, the incident brought out a red flag and left Byron in 18th.
- He rallied after the restart and surged to 13th. Byron then moved up to 11th after the sixth caution occurred but fell to 15th on the restart.
- He was tapped by a competitor and bounced off the outside wall, which brought out the seventh caution on lap 252. He headed to pit road for repairs but was unable to continue the race. Byron placed 37th.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 26th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Jimmie Johnson began the race in 20th and quickly shifted up to 13th by the sixth lap. Johnson continued to slice through the field and broke into the top 10 by the ninth lap.
- Six laps later, Johnson was cruising in eighth. He was still in that spot when the competition caution came out on lap 20. Johnson had a little trouble on pit road and was 29th coming out of the caution.
- He back to 25th by lap 30. Four circuits later, Johnson was in 21st and by the 38th lap he was 19th behind teammate Chase Elliott. Johnson soon jumped ahead of Elliott and was in 16th by the 46th lap. Nineteen laps later, he shifted up to 11th and soon was in 10th.
- Johnson pitted with the majority of the field and came out in 17th. His Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE roared back to 10th a short time later and soon he was riding behind Alex Bowman in eighth place. He eventually passed Bowman for seventh and remained there for the end of Stage 1.
- Stage 2 saw Johnson restart in 12th, but he moved up quickly to 11th. He got loose and hit the wall hard, bringing out a caution. Johnson made an early pit road stop to repair the damage to his car and resumed the race in 40th. He moved up to 39th halfway through the second stage and shifted to 37th with 20 laps to go. He moved up to 36th before the second stage ended.
- Johnson got caught up in the accident at the beginning of Stage 3 that brought out the red flag. His damage wasn’t too substantial and he was able to continue. Johnson was in 35th at the restart and made his way to 33rd a few laps later.
- With 45 laps to go, Johnson was riding in 30th. Twenty five laps later, Johnson inched up to 27th. He was able to edge up another position to 26th and finish the race there.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/ADAM'S POLISHES CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 30th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Alex Bowman started the race 12th. He maintained that position for the first nine laps but slipped to 14th by the 15th lap. Coming off pit road after the competition caution, Bowman was in fifth. He dropped to sixth a lap later where he rode for nearly 20 laps.
- By the 46th lap Bowman fell to eighth. However, he charged back to sixth 20 laps later and was in fifth by lap 70. He decided to pit on the 89th lap and came out in 17th.
- Two laps later, he was up to 14th and cycled up to seventh by lap 95. Teammate Jimmie Johnson moved past Bowman and he settled in eighth for the end of the first stage.
- Bowman was in 21st for the start of the second stage after he opted to go to pit road. By lap 158, he was in 16th and moved up five spots by lap 172.
- Bowman decided to pit with 34 to go in Stage 2 and came off pit road in 23rd. He was up to 17th with 20 to go in the stage and crossed the finish line in that position.
- He was in 17th when the red flag came out at the beginning of Stage 3. Bowman avoided the incident by driving into the grass and coming to a rest back on the track. He moved up to 12th at the restart and was riding in ninth after the sixth caution occurred.
- He stayed in 12th for the majority of the stage and edged up to ninth as the field started to pit with less than 45 to go. Bowman moved up to 10th with 20 laps left in the race.
- Four laps later, he was hit by another car from behind and slammed into the wall. Bowman’s suspension was damaged, which ended his day. He placed 30th.