CONCORD, N.C. -- Chase Elliott was declared the winner of Sunday's inaugural race at Circuit of The Americas, earning his fifth win in the last six races on road courses. With the victory, Elliott earned Chevrolet it's 800th win and tied Hendrick Motorsports with Richard Petty's all-time wins record. The organization now needs to win one more race to surpass Petty Enterprises' long-standing accomplishment.
The race was a wild and wet affair, with rain steadily pouring on the track throughout the race. Elliott was in the lead with 14 laps to go when the race was halted under a red caution due to standing water on the track. The race soon was called, and Elliott won his first event of the season.
Teammate Kyle Larson was tailing Elliott as the race wound down, finishing second for his third runner-up result of the season. Alex Bowman also led some laps at COTA and took home an eighth-place finish. William Byron, who was involved in an accident early in the race, placed 11th after a rallying effort.
Take a look below to see how the Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared at Circuit of The Americas.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 2nd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Larson started the race second and dropped to sixth by the third lap, pitting at the start of the fourth. He was up to 12th two laps later and was in that spot for the first caution on the seventh lap. Larson stayed out and restarted seventh. He weaved in and out of the top 10 before moving up to fifth on the final lap of the stage. Larson finished stage one in fourth.
- He started stage two in the same position but dropped to seventh by the yellow flag on lap 18. After pitting, Larson was 17th when the race was under green again. He was 15th after the fourth caution and first red flag on lap 24.
- Larson restarted 14th after a lengthy delay and slowly worked his way into the top 10 by the final lap. Larson placed sixth for stage two.
- The 28-year-old was up to fifth for the start of stage three and shifted up to fourth by lap 36, battling for top-five positioning with teammate Chase Elliott. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 42, keeping that position until he pitted three laps later. Larson came off pit road in 11th.
- Larson was up to seventh with 22 laps left and was inside the top five a lap later. He soon was second, tailing Elliott with 18 to go. Larson was in that position when drivers pitted under red due to rain with 14 laps left in the race. The race was called and Larson earned his second runner-up result in the last two races.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 LLUMAR CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 1st
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott took to the road course in eighth and pitted during the second lap to get rain tires. He returned to the track 19th and moved to 10th by the fifth lap. He was in the same position for the first caution on the seventh lap.
- Elliott pitted and restarted 19th two laps later. He dropped to 27th with five laps to go in stage one and worked his up the field way to 12th before the stage ended.
- The 25-year-old driver started stage two in eighth place and was up to sixth for the third caution of the day on lap 18. He decided to stay out and was fourth on the restart. Elliott dropped to fifth and was in that position for the fourth caution and first red flag.
- He was in fourth when the race resumed and edged to third with three laps left in stage two. He moved up to second on the final lap and finished there for the stage break.
- The driver of the No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was second for the start of the final stage and weaved inside the top five, battling with teammate Kyle Larson. He finally moved back to second by the end of lap 38 but fell back to fourth a lap later.
- Elliott pitted on lap 42 of tires, fuel and an adjustment, hitting the track 26th. He was all the way up to sixth with 22 laps to go and jumped to second a lap later. Elliott took the lead from teammate Alex Bowman with 19 laps to go in the race. Five laps later, the cars pitted due to heavy rains and the event soon was called, giving Elliott his first win of the season.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 11th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron rolled off the grid fifth and jumped to second in the first lap. However, he needed to pit during the second lap for rain tires. Byron returned to the course 25th and broke into the top 10 in seventh five laps into the race.
- Two laps later, he was down to ninth but remained on the track during the first yellow flag, restarting sixth under green on the ninth lap. The 23-year-old driver edged to fourth by lap 10. With three left in stage one, Byron dropped to fifth and was in that spot when he was hit from behind, damaging his right-rear quarter panel. Byron was forced to pit on lap 14, finishing the stage in 38th.
- Byron started the second stage in the same position and was 29th when the first red flag dropped on lap 24. After a lengthy delay, Byron restarted 26th on lap 28 and edged to 22nd for the end of stage two.
- He restarted 15th for stage three but dropped to 19th before the 39th lap. Byron worked his way up the leaderboard and was 10th by lap 43. He shot up to third after several cars in front of him pitted, but pitted himself a lap later and came back out 17th. Byron began to pick off the field and was 11th on lap 54 when the second red flag dropped due to rain and visibility. He finished the race in that position.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 8th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman started the race 12th but pitted during the second lap for slick tires, returning to the track 32nd. He was up to 26th six laps in and pitted for more tires and fuel under the first yellow caution a lap later, returning to the track 32nd. Bowman started working his way up the leaderboard and ended stage one in 22nd.
- He started stage two in 15th and jumped to 12th when the third caution of the day dropped on lap 18. Bowman decided to stay out and restarted the race in sixth place. He dropped to 10th after the restart and was in that spot during lap 24’s red-flag incident. Bowman moved up to eighth on the restart but fell to 10th at the very end of stage two.
- The 28-year-old driver was 20th for the start of stage three after he pitted during the break. He slowly moved up the field and was inside the top 10 by lap 42. Bowman jumped to second after several cars pitted and took over the lead on lap 47 after the lead car pitted. Two laps later, he also pitted.
- Bowman took the track for the final time in 11th and was in eighth when the second red flag was displayed for rain and lack of visibility. The race was called and Bowman finished in that spot.