CONCORD, N.C. -- William Byron and Kyle Larson were driving with everything they had to earn Hendrick Motorsports' 12th win of the season as the final laps drew to a close at Michigan Interntational Speedway.
Byron was chasing down Ryan Blaney while battling Larson for the top spot and finished second by .077 seconds behind Blaney. Larson followed with a third-place finish.
"It was fun. It was kind of like a speedway race," Byron said. "I was trying to back up to (Larson) off of (turn) four to get a run with about two to go. Unfortunately, he kind of ran the bottom, so he didn't have any momentum to push me."
Chase Elliott also notched a top-10 finish after he placed eighth and Alex Bowman was 16th when the checkered flag waved.
Take a look below to see how the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared at Michigan International Speedway.
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 CINCINNATI CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 3rd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Larson started Sunday’s race from the pole position and maintained the top spot through the competition caution. He lost a position pitting for left-side tires and returned to the track in second place. Larson dropped to third within the first lap of the restart and was fourth by lap 28.
- He was sixth by lap 36 after the second yellow flag of the afternoon but started to work his way up the field. Larson was fourth by lap 38 and moved to third 15 laps later. In the last turn he made the move to second, finishing the stage in that spot.
- After a stellar pit stop between the stages, Larson restarted first. He battled for the lead on the first lap and reclaimed the lead position by lap 68. With help from teammate Chase Elliott, he kept ahead of the second-place car and was in the lead until Elliott passed him on lap 80. As part of pit strategy, Larson pitted on lap 110 and was 15th when he jumped out on the track.
- As the field cycled through Larson jumped up to third. He was first when the final stage began and was in that spot all the way through lap 160 when he pitted under green and was 23rd getting back to the track.
- Larson moved up the leaderboard and was battling for second behind teammate William Byron with 25 laps left of racing. Two cautions for rain and an accident stalled the last 20 laps of the race, but Larson remained in the top five. He was third with 12 laps to go and made the pass for second with six to go. He fell back to third and finished the race there.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 8th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott lined up next to teammate Kyle Larson and started from second place at Michigan. Within the first lap he slipped back to fifth after taking the inside lane but moved up a position and settled in fourth by lap three.
- Elliott jumped to second on the restart and took the lead on lap 27. Even with a caution on lap 32, Elliott maintained the lead and stayed in first until the end of stage one.
- The Dawsonville, Georgia, native began stage two in second place. He dropped to third on lap 71 but rallied to take the lead from Larson by lap 80. The teammates battled throughout the second stage until Larson pitted before Elliott. Just like his teammate, Elliott pitted on lap 111 and was 12th when he returned to the track. He cycled to fourth before stage two ended.
- Elliott took two tires during the stage break and was 17th for the beginning of stage three. He was up to 15th by lap 133 and settled in 14th a couple of laps later. As cars in front of him pitted under green, Elliott jumped to seventh place with 37 laps to go and then was second by lap 166.
- The 25-year-old driver pitted and returned in 17th four laps later. He was 13th when the fifth caution for rain dropped and had to rally after a second caution pushed him back to 16th. Elliott finished the race in eighth place.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 2nd
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron rolled off the grid in 18th and started working his way up the leaderboard. He was 15th by lap two, 13th by lap three, 11th by lap eight and ninth by lap 13. He was eighth when the competition caution was called 20 laps in.
- Byron was seventh when the race restarted and entered the top five when the second caution occurred on lap 32. He dropped to eighth on the restart and was ninth by lap 40 but started to gain momentum 10 laps later. With six laps left in stage one, Byron had edged to sixth and gained another spot three laps later. He finished stage one in fifth place.
- The 23-year-old driver slid too far out of his pit box between the stage break and restarted stage two 22nd. Within five laps Byron had jumped 10 positions and was 11th by lap 70. He was back in the top 10 by lap 82 and was cruising in eighth three laps later. He pitted under green on lap 106, leaving pit road in 21st place.
- With fresh tires and the field cycling under green, Byron made a run up the leaderboard and finish stage two in ninth place. He jumped to second on the final restart after staying out between the stage break and remained in that spot until lap 155 when he pitted for four tires under green, returning in 27th.
- Byron led the pit cycle and started to move quickly up the track. He retook the lead after the field cycled through with 27 laps left in the race. Byron was in first when a rain caution waved with 20 laps to go. He shot ahead when the caution cleared but another yellow flag from an accident hampered his momentum.
- Byron fell back to second on that restart and then teammate Larson passed him for second. The pair battled for second and Byron prevailed to notch his second runner-up result on the year.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 16th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman took his spot on the grid in 10th place and jumped four spots to seventh within the first lap. He edged to sixth by lap 13. He gained a spot on pit road under the yellow competition caution and restarted the race in fifth place.
- Bowman fell to eighth by lap 28 and fell back to 15th by lap 36 after a caution forced the second restart of the day. He reported some left-rear damage to his Ally Chevrolet and lost a couple more spots before finished stage one in 17th.
- The Tucson, Arizona, native was 18th when stage two began and was 20th by lap 75. Bowman pitted on lap 110 when he was 17th under green and was 23rd when he was back on the track. He edged to 21st before stage two ended.
- To gain track position, the Ally driver stayed out and restarted ninth for stage three. He edged to eighth by lap 128, sixth by lap 136 and fifth by lap 137. Bowman was seventh when he pitted under green on lap 148, returning to the track in 26th.
- He was patient as the field cycled through and he settled in sixth place with 26 laps to go. He was 10th after two yellow flags stalled the race with less than 20 laps left but slipped back to 16th by the time the race ended.