CONCORD, N.C. -- William Byron finished sixth and Chase Elliott was 10th in the first NASCAR Cup Series dirt race in 51 years. Byron's finish at Bristol Motor Speedway marks his fifth top-10 finish in a row; a personal record.
Alex Bowman finished the race 22nd after he was involved in an on-track incident. Kyle Larson was running fourth in Stage 1 when a car got loose and spun in front of him. He was unable to recover and finished 29th.
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After the dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway was postponed a day due to rainy conditions, the event got underway Monday afternoon. Despite the beautiful weather, conditions at the track started to degrade. The teams were allowed a 10-minute non-active pit stop between Stages 2 and 3 for the track to be watered.
Once the field went green for Stage 3, Byron and Elliott settled into the top 10 through the final laps. Joey Logano won the race.
Take a look at how the inaugural dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway unfolded for the Hendrick Motorsports drivers.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 FREIGHTLINER CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 29th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Larson earned the pole for the race but started from the rear after the No. 5 team changed engines. He started to pick the field off quickly and was riding in 15th place by Lap 25. When a red flag dropped on the 41st lap due to an accident, Larson was 11th.
- He surged to fifth by the time the competition caution fell, passing teammate William Byron. When racing resumed, he was fourth when a car spun in front of him. Larson hit the car and brought out the third caution of the race. Impressively, Larson returned to the track in 31st.
- He was down three laps with 30 to go but started to move up the field. Larson was 30th and two laps down when the first stage ended.
- Despite fast lap times, Larson remained in 30th place for the entirety of the first half of Stage 2. He restarted in the same spot for the second leg of Stage 2 in the same spot and was caught up in an accident on Lap 152. Larson was able to stay out and finished the stage in 30th.
- Larson remained 30th for the majority of Stage 3 and eventually finished one spot up in 29th.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 10th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott rolled of the grid 26th and worked his way to 14th by Lap 25. He dropped a spot to 15th when an accident brought out a caution on Lap 41. When racing resumed, Elliott broke into the top 10 and was placed 10th when the competition caution dropped.
- Elliott jumped into the top five after the race resumed and was fifth when the third caution waved. He slipped to eighth when the race resumed and slowly tumbled to 11th by the end of the first stage.
- Elliott moved to 10th nine laps into the second stage. Another 32 laps later he edged to eighth and was in that position when the second competition caution waved.
- The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE moved to seventh before the seventh yellow flag waved. He remained there until the eighth restart when he moved to sixth. Elliott got loose with two to go and dropped three spots. He finished Stage 2 10th.
- Elliott edged to ninth with 45 laps left in the race. He remained in that spot until the final eight laps when he dropped to 10th.
- Elliott was 11th when the 10th caution was called. The restart allowed Elliott to move to 10th again and finished the race in that position.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 6th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron started the race eighth and he surged to third by Lap 22. He was battling for second place 25 laps in but got a little high on the banks, dropping back to fourth. He reclaimed third place several laps later and was in that spot when an accident brought out the first caution on Lap 41.
- Byron dropped to fifth and tapped another car, causing it to spin. He was able to get through and was sixth when the competition caution fell. Byron avoided another accident after the competition caution and jumped to third after that restart.
- He made the pass for second on Lap 92 and remained in that spot for the rest of Stage 1, earning valuable stage points.
- Byron dropped to third within three laps of the restart. It took 34 more laps for him to move into second place and he remained in that position for the second competition caution on Lap 150. He was able to restart two laps later after the sixth caution dropped and fell to fourth before the seventh yellow flag waved less than a lap later.
- Byron dropped to fifth after the seventh restart of the race. He kept that spot until the eighth restart when he took the high lane and fell to ninth. Byron slipped further after some rear bumper contact and was 11th when the stage ended.
- The 23-year-old driver edged back into the top 10 with 38 laps left in the race. He leapfrogged teammate Chase Elliott and was eighth with 27 laps to go. He was in that spot when the 10th caution waved with just four laps left in the race. The restart allowed Byron to edge to sixth for his fifth top-10 finish in a row.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 22nd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Once the race was under green, Bowman led his Hendrick Motorsports teammates with a seventh-place start. He jumped to third after passing teammate William Byron 30 laps in.
- Bowman took the inside lane on Lap 32 and edged up to second. He fell to fourth on the restart and was in that position when the yellow competition flag waved.
- After the race went green, Bowman jumped to second when the third caution of the race fell on Lap 53. Bowman stumbled on the restart and dropped to 11th and fell to 15th several of laps later. He was in that position at the end of Stage 1.
- The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet was 13th 10 laps into Stage 2. He slipped to 16th over the course of 20 laps and was in that spot for the second competition caution.
- Bowman started the second half of Stage 2 in the same position but was caught up in an accident five laps later. He pitted under yellow to repair the damage and returned to the track 23rd. He finished Stage 2 up two spots in 21st.
- Bowman moved to 20th by Lap 225 and remained there until the 10th caution waved with four laps to go. He was 21st on the restart for the two-lap shootout and fell a spot to finish 22nd.