TALLADEGA, Ala. - Alex Bowman led the way for Hendrick Motorsports at Talladega Superspeedway with a fifth-place finish. The result saw Bowman navigate around a multi-car incident, coming to the checkered flag in the tri-oval. It is the fourth top-five finish for Bowman and the No. 48 Ally Racing team this season and his second top-five on a drafting track in 2024.
"We ended up with a top-five finish," Bowman said. "That's great – obviously, that's great for the team. It wasn't our best speedway race, but still a solid top-five."
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William Byron took home a seventh-place result for his seventh top-10 of the season (tied for the NASCAR Cup Series lead). The reigning DAYTONA 500 champion scored a third-place finish in the opening stage and ran inside the top 10 throughout the race. Ultimately, Byron's No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was able to miss the late-race carnage (and a spinning No. 99 entry of Daniel Suarez) to secure his fifth straight top-10 run of the season.
"Today was just a lot of strategy," Byron said. "My No. 24 Liberty University Chevy team did a really good job getting us out front for the stage finishes to give us a shot at the stage wins. "Happy to come home with a seventh-place finish. We'll go to Dover (Motor Speedway) and have a really good Chevy there."
Earning the 15th-place spot in the final running order was last weekend's winner, Chase Elliott. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native came up just shy of a stage one victory with a second-place finish and an eighth-place result in stage two. As the laps clicked off, the No. 9 entry attempted to utilize the top lane to make up ground as several cars moved up to try a similar strategy. While the move started well, the momentum faded after a few laps and Elliott fell down the running order. With the incident on the final lap, Elliott made his way to the bottom of the track in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy and avoided several spinning cars to earn a top-15 finish.
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Kyle Larson's day was eventful in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. After losing the draft while serving his drive-through penalty at the start of the race, the No. 5 entry rejoined the tail of the field as they lapped him. Larson, not concerned about saving fuel, drove to the front of the pack and led the group for several circuits before being passed off of turn four, coming to the end of stage one. He earned the free pass position ahead of the start of stage two. Now able to pass for position, Larson drove up to third by the end of the second stage, earning eight points. Coming to the checkered flag, he spun through the grass after contact but was able to course-correct his No. 5 entry over the finish line in the right direction for a 21st-place finish.
Tyler Reddick won the race and became the seventh different winner this season. Leaving Talladega, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are in the top 10 in the points standings. Larson has the lead by 15 markers over Martin Truex Jr. Elliott is third, while Byron is fourth, and Bowman ranks 10th.
RECAP THE RACE
As stage one began, the Nos. 9, 24 and 48 entries prioritized fuel conservation, opting to run amid the pack rather than at the front of the field. Larson served his pass-through penalty on the first lap of the race and subsequently lost the lead draft. However, the No. 5 was able to join the tail end of the leading pack while going a lap down. With 20 circuits remaining in the stage, Elliott and Larson moved to the front of the field. This briefly put Larson back on the lead lap as he was technically ahead of Elliott, the race leader at the time. The group held the lead after green-flag pit stops with Byron in tow before the rest of the pack caught up. On the run to the green-checkered flag, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts entry came up just short of a stage victory to competitor Austin Cindric, earning a runner-up finish by mere inches. Larson was awarded the free pass and got back on the lead lap.
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Stage two saw a similar strategy to the opening segment. While Elliott, Byron and Bowman restarted towards the front, they eventually found themselves again amid the pack as the race leaders chose track position over saving fuel. After taking the free pass, Larson restarted at the back of the field and quickly worked his way into the top 10 before settling into the pack near his three teammates. Following green-flag stops, it was the No. 5 who was able to capitalize out of the pits. Larson would lead the way for Rick Hendrick's team with a third-place result in stage two.
The race's first caution for incident came out on lap 134 on the back straightaway, nearly bringing an early end to the day for the No. 9 team. While Elliott could not completely avoid the stack-up, he did not sustain any significant damage after contacting competitor Justin Haley. The second caution flag for incident came out on lap 157, putting all drivers inside their fuel window to make it to the finish. Because all four Hendrick Motorsports cars were running in the middle/rear of the pack to save fuel, the team did not have track position to lean on for the final run to the finish. As a result, each driver fought hard to gain valuable spots on track coming to the finish, with Bowman and Byron able to capitalize on the final lap to move up the rankings.
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Next weekend, the Cup Series heads to Dover, Delaware to tackle the 1-mile track of Dover Motor Speedway. Catch all the action on Sunday, April 28, at 2 p.m. ET with coverage on FS1, PRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).