CONCORD, N.C. -- Kyle Larson dominated the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, winning the first two stages and leading for 269 laps before securing a second-place finish on Sunday.
The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was in the lead in the final 10 laps before he started to lose grip and dropped to second. Larson finished with his third top-five result and fifth top-10 of the season out of six races run.
Alex Bowman strategically raced his way into the top five and claimed a third-place result. William Byron also secured a top-10 placement, finishing ninth. Chase Elliott lost an engine in Stage 3 after running in the top 15 all day, which relegated him to a 38th-place finish.
Ryan Blaney won the race.
Take a look at how the race unfolded for the Hendrick Motorsports drivers at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 2nd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Starting off the day in Atlanta in sixth, Larson ran hot out of the gate, finding himself second by Lap 11. The competition caution came out and Larson gained the lead coming off pit road thanks to the fast work of his pit crew.
- Larson headed to the pits on Lap 63 to get tires and fuel. Rejoining under green, he held the lead and won the first stage of the race.
- After another fast pit stop, Larson chose the inside lane and gave up his lead but made quick work to get back out front. Larson pitted halfway through the second stage for fresh tires and fuel on Lap 159, still leading the field after drivers shuffled through pit road.
- A caution on Lap 220 allowed Larson to get new tires. The 28-year-old driver chose the inside and found himself in fourth on the restart. Chasing down the leader, Larson made his way back up to first on Lap 237.
- Running fast through most of the final stage, Larson fell to second place after he started to lose the grip on his tires during the last 10 laps. He finished the race in that position for his second runner-up finish in Atlanta.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 38th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott was set to take the track in fifth but was sent to the rear after a pre-race inspection issue. Quickly battling back, Elliott was running in 15th when the competition caution waved on Lap 25.
- After pitting under caution, Elliott reset in 14th place and continued his charge through the field. He breached the top 10 in 10th on Lap 37 and eventually found himself eighth by Lap 57.
- Pitting on Lap 64 under green, Elliott maintained his position and finished Stage 1 there. The 25-year-old driver gained four positions on pit road and jumped to fourth for the start of Stage 2.
- With a caution out on Lap 113, Elliott was reshuffled to eighth after choosing the outside lane. After the green flag, he was involved in an on-track incident but took minimal damage.
- After the caution cleared, Elliott was up to fifth by Lap 117. The light damage from several laps earlier eventually slowed the progress of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet, yielding a 14th-place finish in Stage 2.
- Another caution came out on Lap 220 that was from Elliott. His car had an engine problem that ended his race early, forcing him to place 38th.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 8th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron started the race at Atlanta in ninth place and quickly filed behind teammate Kyle Larson running out front. Byron soon was tailing him in fourth place by Lap 10.
- By the competition caution on Lap 25, Byron was sitting in sixth place. Pitting under the caution, he reshuffled into 10th. Bouncing around in the top 10 through the first segment of the race, Byron finished the first stage in 10th. Another great pit stop yielded Byron an eighth-place restart in Stage 2.
- A caution on Lap 113 allowed Byron to choose the outside lane and land first place position on restart. He fell back to fifth by Lap 120.
- On a long run, Byron pitted under green on Lap 159 and rejoined the field sixth. Using the fresh tires and fuel, Byron finished Stage 2 in fifth place.
- Resetting for Stage 3 in third place, Byron continued to run hard but fell back to eighth. He pitted on Lap 266 and rejoined the pack in 10th place.
- Byron fought hard to climb back up the field and placed eight for his fourth top-10 finish in a row, a new career high for the 23-year-old driver.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 3rd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman rounded out the Hendrick Motorsports teams and started the race 14th. At the competition caution, he raced his way to 11th and restacked seventh once the event resumed.
- Bowman followed the field after the lead drivers pitted during Lap 63. A great pit stop by the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team yielded a fifth-place reset after the field shuffled through the green-flag pit stop. Bowman finished the first stage in sixth place.
- Continuing to hold pace, Bowman restarted Stage 2 in fifth. After a caution flag was waved on Lap 113, Bowman captured a third-place position on the restart.
- Pitting on Lap 158 with the field, Bowman rejoined the pack in second place finished Stage 2 in that position after a hard run.
- After a clean pitstop and choosing the outside lane, Bowman ran fourth to start the last leg of the race in Atlanta. He pitted under caution on Lap 220 and fell back to sixth.
- Ticking off the laps and positions, Bowman pitted on Lap 267 while in sixth place to get his last set of tires and splash of fuel before running down a third-place finish.