DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Alex Bowman was the highest finishing driver for Hendrick Motorsports as the regular season concluded at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
It was a tough day for the quartet of drivers, who waited a day to race following Saturday night’s postponement. After completing 139 laps following a 10 a.m. ET start time, rain brought a red flag a little past 12:35 p.m. ET. The final 21 laps resumed at 3:55 p.m. ET.
Bowman led 11 laps in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 before he was caught up in an incident on lap 126 that left him several laps down. He finished the race in 14th place.
RELATED: Ives to step down as the No. 48 crew chief at end of 2022
Elliott led a race-high 31 laps in the No. 9 A SHOC Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. He was collected in a big wreck on lap 139 to finish 29th. Shortly after that wreck, the red flag came out for weather. William Byron finish 34th after his involvement in an incident early in the final stage.
"It just looked like they checked up in front of us," Byron said of the lap 103 accident. "I don’t know exactly what happened in the front of the line. I hadn’t checked up and was just going to keep rolling straight through, but they came across me from the top. It's just unfortunate. We had just gotten our No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 a little bit better. I felt like we were in a good spot."
A mechanical issue ended Kyle Larson’s day after 14 laps and he would finish 37th.
"I guess it was the timing belt maybe or something like that. I didn’t really have much of an indication," Larson said.
Austin Dillon won the race at the 2.5-mile track to win his way into the playoffs.
All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are part of the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs field. The 10-race postseason kicks off next weekend at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
RELATED: Elliott receives 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Where he finished: 14th
Race notes
Stage one: Bowman started 10th for Saturday night’s race. For a handful of laps, Bowman was leading a third lane close to the wall before maneuvering back to the middle lane right in front of teammate Kyle Larson. Going back to the top lane, the driver of the No. 48 moved into the top 10 as the outside lane picked up momentum and he was the fourth car in the lane. Bowman got hung up on the outside with no help on lap 30, but that position helped him to avoid the first wreck of the race. Under caution on lap 33, the 29-year-old pitted for four tires and fuel. He restarted 18th for the one-lap shootout to end the stage and finished the stage in 15th.
Stage two: Bowman stayed out during the stage break to restart 10th on lap 41. Riding in the outside lane behind Chris Buescher, he moved into the top five on lap 42 and then the top three on lap 44. That lane lost some momentum and Bowman drifted to the back of the top 10 for a few laps. On lap 50, the energy of that lane picked up and Bowman was able to get back into the top three on lap 52. As the lead car was jockeying lanes to protect the lead, the No. 48 led the outside lane on and off. Bowman held the lead for lap 63 before Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano took control at the front. On lap 70, he moved down to the bottom line as a group of Chevrolets was starting to form up and got back into the top 10 on lap 76. On lap 80, he pitted with pretty much the bulk of the field for fuel only. Bowman blended back into the field in 12th and lined up on the inside with a slew of Chevrolets. He would finish the stage in 12th.
Final stage: During the stage break, crew chief Greg Ives called Bowman down pit road for four tires and fuel. He restarted ninth on lap 101. Bowman able to avoid a crash on lap 103 and was scored in third. He stayed out and restarted third on lap 108. He kept a spot in the top five as he stayed on the inside with Logano leading the line. On lap 115, Bowman took the lead running the high lane near the wall and he led a large group single file around the 2.5-mile venue and led the next 10 laps. He had lost the lead from Logano when he made contact with the left-rear quarter panel of Chase Briscoe on the outside. Bowman ended up with damage from the contact and ensuing wreck. He would bring the car to pit road for work on the left front and right rear as well as taking new left-side tires. Bowman came back down pit road for additional right side work and right-side tires. The No. 48 team was assessed a two-lap penalty for having too many crew members over the wall on the damaged vehicle policy. On lap 132, he was scored in 26th and two laps down. At the time of the red flag, Bowman was scored in 27th, three laps down. With 11 cars out from the incident prior to the red flag, Bowman was able to pick off 11 spots in the running order when the race went back green on lap 145. He would ride in the back for the remainder of the race – three laps down – and away from the lead-lap pack.
Chase Elliott, No. 9 A SHOC Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Where he finished: 29th
Race notes
Stage one: Elliott lined up next to Larson on the front row from the second position. Aided by a push by Joey Logano, Elliott took the lead as the inside line surged ahead on lap one. The No. 9 held the lead for the first 21 laps before Erik Jones took the lead on lap 22. He took the lead back from Jones on lap 24. Jones, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney got ahead of the inside lane and dropped down in front of Elliott – pushing the regular season champion back to fourth place. The 26-year-old retook the lead by moving into the middle on lap 31 and the caution came out on the next lap. Under the caution on lap 32, Elliott stayed out to maintain the lead for the one-lap shootout to end the stage. The 2020 champion battled Logano for the stage one win, but would finish the stage in second.
Stage two: Under the stage break, Elliott pitted for four tires and fuel and came back down to top off on fuel to having a shorter stop the next time down. He restarted 26th on lap 41 and was working the bottom lane, but back in traffic in the early part of the run. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native was moving around lanes to try and find some momentum towards the front as the stage reached its halfway point. As the bottom got energy, Elliott was able to move up into the top 13. On lap 80, he pitted with pretty much the bulk of the field. On lap 81, he took the lead following his fuel-only stop as he worked the bottom line. When Tyler Reddick moved up to lead the outside line, Elliott lost the lead on lap 82. He got the point position back on lap 86 before losing it to Reddick and Kyle Busch on lap 88. Elliott jumped up to the outside to attempt to lead it and Logano came up with him. As the final lap of the stage unfolded, the No. 9 got shuffled out and moved to the back. Elliott finished the stage in 21st.
Final stage: Crew chief Alan Gustafson called the No. 9 down pit road under the stage break for four tires and fuel. Elliott restarted 15th on lap 101 and was able to avoid a wreck on lap 103 that left him scored in 12th. Under caution, he stayed out to restart 12th on lap 108. The four-time winner in 2020 was working to form a third line for a bit but then tucked into the middle lane behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. That move put him into the top 10 on lap 113 but then the middle broke up a bit and he dropped back to 14th. On lap 121, Elliott moved to the inside lane as it worked its way towards the front. The No. 9 narrowly avoided another wreck on lap 126 and was running in seventh at the time of the caution. On lap 128, Elliott came down pit road for four fresh tires and fuel before restarting 10th on lap 131. After avoiding another incident, he was scored in sixth on lap 132 and restarted from that position on lap 135. The No. 9 worked the outside lane behind Chris Buescher and Aric Almirola at the restart as the field started to get more racy with weather in the area. Elliott was caught in a big wreck in turn one on lap 139 – an incident that involved most cars on the lead lap and ended his day.
William Byron, No. 24 Axalta/Service King Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Where he finished: 34th
Race notes
Stage one: Byron took the grid in the 17th position for the 400-mile event. Staying committed to the bottom, the 24-year-old moved up into the top 10 on lap eight. He would fall out of the top 10 when the outside lane gained energy, while the driver of the No. 24 rode the bottom lane. Byron was able to avoid the first wreck of the race and reported under caution that he was too loose to be aggressive. He pitted for four tires, fuel, an air pressure adjustment and a chassis adjustment and restarted 22nd for the final lap of the stage. Byron finished 20th in stage one.
Stage two: Byron stayed out under the stage break to restart 13th on lap 41. He started in the low lane but by lap 50, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native had moved up to the outside behind teammate Alex Bowman. That move helped him get into the top 10 on lap 50 and into fourth place on lap 54. The driver radioed to crew chief Rudy Fugle, “much better balance but could use a little more.” Shortly after that, Byron moved to lead the inside line before Erik Jones followed him down to maintain the lead. The No. 24 led the inside lane as he battled Jones for the lead on lap 58 and took the lead on lap 59. Byron had a close call on lap 64 as he moved up the race track. While he lost some ground, he did settle as the third car on the inside lane. On lap 69, Byron moved up to the top as the field started to go single file. As the field moved towards the bottom lane to get set up to pit, Byron moved to the inside as well. On lap 80, he pitted with pretty much the bulk of the field for fuel and a chassis adjustment. He blended back into the race in 15th and stayed on the inside lane with a bulk of Chevrolets. Late in the stage, Byron moved to the outside line to as the inside lane had faded and finished the stage in 11th.
Final stage: Under the stage break, Byron radioed to Fugle that he was “building a little tight in turn four. I just need help with the rears to be pushed the way I want.” The No. 24 would pit for four tires, fuel, an air pressure adjustment and a chassis adjustment. He stayed in his stall for a couple extra seconds of fuel. Byron restarted the final stage in 10th on lap 101. The No. 24 got collected in a wreck on lap 103 and had significant right-side damage. The incident would end Byron’s day with a 34th-place finish.
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Where he finished: 37th
Race notes
Stage one: Larson led the field to green for the start of the race but lost ground as the inside lane surged by the outside lane that the No. 5 was in. With the top losing momentum, Larson slide to the middle lane that had formed on lap eight and made slight contact with Chris Buescher. The 30-year-old moved back to the 20th position before moving forward again as his line began to gain more energy in the draft. On lap 15, the No. 5 car had smoke coming out of the side pipe. He slowed down as the water temperatures were going down and brought the car to the garage due to a mechanical issue.