CONCORD, N.C. -- Multiple late-race cautions at Kansas Speedway allowed Chase Elliott to move up the leaderboard and place fifth for the 11th race of the season on Sunday.
Elliott rallied from hovering in and out of the top 10 and tried to break into the top three in the final laps. He skirted the wall with his No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE but maintained control for his fourth top-five result of the year.
William Byron finished the race in ninth place, securing his ninth top-10 result in a row. Byron now is the youngest driver ever to finish inside the top-10 in nine straight races in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Kyle Larson was the leader for the 132 laps of the race but the three late cautions hurt him in the long run. After tapping the wall with a couple of laps to go, Larson placed 19th. Alex Bowman placed one spot ahead of Larson in 18th place.
Kyle Busch won the race.
Take a look below to see how the Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared at Kansas Speedway.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 19th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Larson started 32nd and was up 11 spots within five laps. He was up to ninth 10 laps later and was seventh when the competition caution waved. He restarted in the same position.
- Larson was fourth by Lap 41 and made the pass for third 15 laps later. He soon passed teammate William Byron for second and was battling for first with less than 20 laps left in the stage. He finally passed the leader with seven to go but lost the lead three laps later. Larson finished Stage 1 second.
- He kicked off Stage 2 in first after a stellar four-tire pit stop and remained in the lead until halfway through the stage when he pitted under green. He returned the track in seventh and was back in first after picking off the leaders by Lap 149. Larson finished the stage in first, his fourth stage win of the year.
- The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet started Stage 3 out front and was battling to keep the lead immediately. He started to widen the gap with 90 laps to go and remained in the lead until he pitted under green with 55 laps left in the race. Larson was third when he hit the track again.
- By Lap 220, Larson was in second and closing the gap on the leader. That driver finally pitted on Lap 226 and the 28-year-old driver resumed the lead. One lap later, a yellow flag dropped due to a rogue tire on pit road, allowing Larson to pit again for four tires and fuel.
- He restarted first and was battling for the lead and fell to second with 30 laps left. The leader tapped the wall, allowing Larson to shoot ahead to first. However, it caused another caution to wave with 22 laps left.
- Larson stayed out during the yellow and restarted first. He was in that spot when the sixth caution dropped, forcing another restart. He was first again but fell to second before an eighth caution came out from an accident. Larson restarted third and hit the wall trying to pass the lead cars. He finished 19th.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 5th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott rolled off the grid in 17th and moved up a spot within one lap. By the competition caution he had jumped to 10th. He gained two position on pit road and restarted eighth. Elliott edged to seventh 10 laps after the restart and edged to sixth in the final lap of Stage 1.
- The driver of the No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE restarted Stage 2 in fifth after a solid pit stop between segments. He dropped to sixth quickly and was battling for fifth by Lap 98. He took the spot back and remained in that position until a green-flag pit stop on Lap 141.
- Elliott returned to the track 12th and soon edged to 11th. Elliott was ninth with 20 laps left in the stage and he surged to fifth after the final cars on the lead lap pitted, finishing Stage 2 in that position.
- Elliott lost two spots on pit road and restarted Stage 3 in seventh place. He was shuffled back to 13th after being caught in the middle of a three-wide situation. He edged to 11th by Lap 176 and he pulled into the top 10 18 laps later.
- He was eighth when he pitted with most of the field under green and returned to the track 13th with 53 laps to go.
- The 25-year-old driver was 10th with less than 50 laps left in the race and edged to ninth 10 laps later. Elliott pitted with the majority of the field after a yellow flag dropped with 37 laps left. He gained a spot on pit road and was seventh returning to the track.
- Elliott opted to pit under yellow when a caution dropped with 22 laps left. He returned to the track 10th and edged to ninth with 17 laps left. He jumped to fifth when the sixth caution waved with 15 laps left and was sixth when a seventh caution dropped.
- Elliott restarted in that position and made a run for third when he tapped the wall, finishing in fifth place.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 9th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron started second and remained in that position until the competition caution. He restarted in the same position after a solid four-tire pit stop.
- Byron battled for the lead on the restart but settled back in second by Lap 33. He tried again to take the lead a few laps later but fell back by half a second shortly afterward. By Lap 60, teammate Kyle Larson passed him and he fell to third. He slipped to fifth by the end of Stage 1.
- The 23-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native lost four spots on pit road and began Stage 2 in ninth. He soon was battling for his spot and dropped to 10th by Lap 99.
- Byron pitted under green with the majority of the field and was 20th when he returned to the track. He was back on the lead lap in 17th by Lap 138. He battled for 11th in the final laps of Stage 1, eventually securing the position on the final lap.
- Stage 3 saw Byron restart in 12th after losing a spot on pit road. He dropped to 16th with 96 laps to go and was hovering in the mid-teens when he pitted with the field. Byron was quick on pit road and had moved to 12th shortly after he returned to the track.
- He moved to 11th with 40 laps left in the race and was in 10th when the race restarted under green after a loose tire caused a yellow flag with 37 laps to go.
- Byron jumped to ninth on the restart and was 10th with 27 laps to go. A yellow flag waved five laps later and he pitted for fresh tires and fuel, resuming the race in 11th. He fell to 14th with 16 laps to go but a sixth caution allowed him to restart 11th.
- The race was two laps under green when another yellow flag wave from an accident. A three-lap shootout allowed Byron to restart ninth and maintain that position, securing his ninth top-10 finish in a row.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 18th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman began the race 25th and worked his way to 21st by the competition caution. He moved up a spot for the restart and eventually was 17th 44 laps into the race. He dealt with an alternator issue during the second half of Stage 1 but was able to move up to 15th by the end of the stage.
- Bowman started Stage 2 in 16th and dropped to 21st shortly after the race resumed. One hundred laps in, Bowman began to work his way back up the field and was cruising in 18th.
- He pitted with the majority of the field on lap 121 and was 26th when he returned to the track. Bowman slowly moved up the field and was 17th by the end of Stage 2.
- Bowman was in 19th when he pitted just 12 laps into Stage 3 after he made contact with another car on the track. The team took side tires and fuel and Bowman returned to the race down two laps in 31st. He made up a lap a short time later and was in 28th with 70 laps left in the race.
- The 28-year-old driver pitted with most of the field halfway through the stage and was 18th on Lap 226 when the drivers cycled through. He was 22nd when the race resumed. A caution with 22 laps left gave Bowman the free pass and allowed him to get back on the lead lap.
- He restarted 20th and jumped to 12th when the seventh caution flag waved. Bowman fell back to 18th in the final laps and finished in that position.