CONCORD, N.C. -- Chase Elliott took home his second top-five finish of the season after he placed fifth at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday.
Elliott battled adversity to reach the top five after he was sent to the rear at the beginning of the race and again for a speeding penalty on pit road. In Elliott's past three visits to Phoenix, he has one win, this fifth-place finish and a seventh-place result.
Kyle Larson also fought hard to reach the front of the pack during the race. He placed seventh after he started from the rear and was hit with two speeding penalties on pit road. Larson now has four top-10 finishes out of five races this season.
William Byron notched his third top-10 result in a row with his eighth-place finish and Alex Bowman battled back from left-side damage to finish 13th.
Martin Truex Jr. won the race.
Take a look below to see how the Hendrick Motorsports drivers performed at Phoenix Raceway.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 7th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Larson started from the rear due to an inspection infraction. He moved to 20th by Lap 21 and jumped to 17th two laps later. Larson was 14th when the competition caution waved and was leading his Hendrick Motorsports teammates.
- Larson was too fast entering pit road during the competition caution and was sent to the rear again. The driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE started picking off the field and was 25th when a second caution came out on Lap 46.
- When the race was under green again, Larson was 26th. He shot to 13th by Lap 60 and broke into the top 10 in ninth by the end of Stage 1.
- Larson kicked off Stage 2 in sixth place and was in that spot during the fourth caution. He battled for the fifth-place position and prevailed by Lap 115. Larson soon was tailing Chase Elliott for third and eventually snagged the spot.
- The Elk Grove, California, native took over the No. 2 spot with 62 laps left in Stage 2. He pitted on Lap 143 for fuel and tires but received another speeding penalty on pit row. He dropped to the rear again.
- Larson was 26th when he returned to the track. He surged up the field as the stage wound down and was 13th for the second stage break.
- The 28-year-old got to work at the restart and moved all the way to seventh just 14 laps into the final stage. He soon passed Byron for sixth and broke into the top five by Lap 224.
- Larson pitted with 60 laps left and was quick to reclaim the fifth-place spot. He was in second place with 57 laps to go and pitted under the sixth caution with the majority of the field. Larson was in fifth place when the race was under green again.
- He had a scary moment when his car got loose, but he regained traction and was in fourth place by Lap 268. Under the seventh yellow flag, Larson pitted and lost a spot on pit road. He fell to seventh with less than 10 laps to go and finished in that position.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 5th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott was sent to the rear because of an inspection issue. He was 23rd 12 laps in behind teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron. By the competition caution, Elliott was 21st.
- He made a huge run on the inside lane and was 14th when the second caution came out. Elliott pitted under yellow and returned to the track 20th.
- The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE jumped to 12th by Lap 53 and edged to eighth two laps later. Elliott continued to shift up the field and was in the top five with 15 laps left in the first stage. He remained in that spot until the stage break.
- Elliott was fourth first the start of Stage 2. He moved into the top three 10 laps into the segment and was in that spot when a fourth caution came out. Elliott slipped to fourth and was battling for third on Lap 101. He eventually prevailed and was third for over 60 laps until Larson moved past him.
- Elliott fell to eighth 138 laps into the race and pitted two laps later. He was ninth when he returned to racing and finished Stage 2 in that position. After a speeding infraction on pit road, Elliott was sent to the rear for the start of Stage 3.
- He was 19th by Lap 207 and moved to 18th 35 laps later before opting to pit. Elliott was 20th after the field cycled through. He moved up to 17th with 55 laps left and was 16th when the sixth caution dropped.
- Elliott took advantage of the caution and restarted 13th. He surged five spots to eighth with 35 to go and pitted with the majority of the field under yellow. Elliott was in the same position when the race resumed.
- He moved to sixth shortly after the restart and battled Larson for fifth with 21 laps to go, eventually prevailing. Elliott finished in that position for his second top-five result of the season.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 8th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron started from the rear after he had pre-race inspection issues. He was 22nd behind teammate Kyle Larson 13 laps into the race. Byron was 20th by the competition caution and pitted during that time.
- Byron was 18th on the restart and jumped to 14th within a couple of laps. He was 12th when the field was under caution on Lap 46 and pitted under yellow. He returned to the track 19th.
- The 23-year-old driver broke into the top-10 by Lap 53 and was ninth five laps later. Byron took another spot and was eighth before the end of Stage 1.
- He edged up a position to seventh for the start of the second stage. Byron was down to 10th when the fourth yellow flag was brought out. He jockeyed for ninth 35 laps into the stage and eventually pulled away with the position.
- Byron was eighth when he pitted on Lap 142 and dropped to 10th when he returned to the track. He moved to seventh before Stage 2 ended.
- Byron restarted ninth by made quick work of getting up to sixth place. He tumbled to 10th by Lap 242 and was 25th after he pitted with 61 laps to go. He cycled to 12th after the round of pit stops and was ninth when the sixth caution dropped with 51 to go.
- The race was green with 45 laps to go and Byron was riding in eighth place. He edged to seventh and was in that position when another yellow flag was waved. Byron pitted and was in the same spot when racing resumed.
- The Charlotte, North Carolina, native fell to eighth shortly after the restart and battled for that position in the final lap. Byron prevailed and earned his third top-10 finish in a row.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY/BEST FRIENDS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 13th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman rolled off the grid 21st. He settled into 18th early in the race and was in that position when the competition caution dropped. Bowman pitted and returned to the track 15th.
- He was back in 18th when he made a little contact with another car and spun into the wall. Bowman brought out the second caution and headed to pit road to repair damage. He returned to the track 32nd and was 25th when the first stage concluded.
- Bowman dropped to 27th after Stage 2 began. He moved back to 25th quickly and was 20th by Lap 99. Bowman continued to work up the leaderboard and was 15th 32 laps into the stage. He dropped to 17th several laps later.
- After pitting, Bowman was 15th on Lap 147. He edged to 13th and then 11th before Stage 2 ended.
- Bowman tumbled to 21st for the restart but started working his way through the field. He was 13th by Lap 243 and pitted seven laps later. He was 19th returning under green and cycled to 15th.
- When the fifth caution dropped on Lap 261, Bowman had moved into 12th place. He pitted under the sixth yellow flag and the No. 48 team gave him tires, fuel and made adjustments to the left-side damage of his Chevy.
- Bowman was 21st at the restart and soon settled in 17th with 33 laps left. He was 15th when he pitted under yellow and was 14th when the race restarted.
- Bowman moved to 12th with 20 laps left in the race. He fell back one spot to 13th as the race wound down and finished in that position.