CONCORD, N.C. -- The doubleheader event at Pocono Raceway was an up-and-down affair for the Hendrick Motorsports drivers.
Saturday's race saw Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman all finish 21st or lower. Only William Byron crossed the finish line in the top 15 with a 14th-place result.
Sunday's race was far better for the group. Elliott notched his seventh top-five result with a fourth-place finish, Byron was seventh and Bowman ended the race in ninth. Jimmie Johnson brought up the rear in 16th.
“It was good to have a solid run for our NAPA team after (Saturday was) so poor," Elliott said. "Obviously, we would’ve liked to of been a little better, but after starting in the back, I was pleased how I was able to move forward and gain a lot of that track position back. It was a good rebound."
Alex Bowman agreed with Elliott. He added that he was impressed with the No. 88 team after they had to start in the back of the field since he had to switch to his backup Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE from Saturday's race
“It was an up and down day. So many people are on different pit strategies throughout the day here in Pocono. We had a top 10 car all day, just didn’t have the running positions to show for it. Greg (Ives) and the guys made great adjustments on pit road and really improved the car throughout the race. A top-10 finish today is good momentum for us going to Indy next weekend.”
Byron secured his fifth top-10 finish of the year with his seventh-place result from Sunday's race. While he was pleased with his improvement from 14th from Saturday's race, he concurred that some improvements still need to be made.
"It was definitely an improvement from (Saturday) – seven spots better to be exact – which is good," he said. "We still struggled a good portion of the race but I think we made the right calls and adjustments at the end. We had a lot of speed actually the last couple runs. I think the track kind of came to us and ultimately that’s what we needed."