CONCORD, N.C. -- Chase Elliott led the effort for Hendrick Motorsports Saturday night with a fifth-place finish at Richmond Raceway.
The driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE remained inside the top 10 for the majority of the night and held steady in fifth for the latter part of the final stage. The fifth-place result is Elliott's fourth top-five finish in the last six races.
Alex Bowman followed up with his fourth top-10 finish in a row, placing ninth at the .75-mile track. William Byron struggled with the handling of his car and placed 21st, while Jimmie Johnson ran into trouble early after he sustained damage to the rear quarter panel of his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. He placed 31st.
Brad Keselowski won the race.
Take a look below to see how the second playoff race of the season shook out for the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 5th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Elliott began the race in 12th but slipped to 14th by the third lap. Twenty laps later he moved up to 11th and remained there until the competition caution.
- After heading to pit road, Elliott returned to the track in 10th. He inched up to ninth a short time later and soon was riding in eighth by lap 68. He went three wide and battled for his spot, ultimately finishing the stage in eighth.
- Elliott kicked off Stage 2 in seventh and slid into sixth 25 laps into the stage. He leapfrogged teammate Alex Bowman 10 laps later for fifth place. Elliott moved into fourth by lap 141.
- He pitted on lap 161 and zoomed back onto the track in 12th. Elliott was back in the top 10 five laps later and was in eighth by lap 170. It took 20 laps, but Elliott moved up to seventh. With 11 to go in the stage, he edged up to fifth, where he finished the second segment of the race.
- Elliott jumped up to fourth for the Start of Stage 3. He pitted and was back on pit road by lap 297 in ninth place and was quick to move into eighth.
- The 24-year-old driver was in sixth by lap 310 and moved into the top five 20 laps later. He pitted with 58 laps left in the race and came out in ninth. Elliott was in fifth with 41 laps remaining and held steady to place inside the top five.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 21st
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Byron kicked off the race with a fifth-place start. He slipped back to seventh by lap 10 and remained there until the competition yellow was dropped.
- Byron restarted in seventh but fell to 14th by lap 70. Four laps later he was in 16th due to a tight-handling car, which is how he ended Stage 1.
- The 22-year-old driver restarted in 19th for Stage 2 after the handling of his Chevrolet was worked on. He started moving up the field and was riding in 15th by lap 105. However, he was down to 21st by lap 126.
- After some back and forth, Byron was in 13th halfway through the second stage. A round of pit stop from other cars allowed Byron to move into fifth place, despite being a lap down. He finally pitted and returned to the track in 30th.
- Byron worked his way through the field and was in 23rd on lap 190. He kept that spot for the remainder of Stage 2.
- Byron restarted Stage 3 in 21st. He moved into 18th by lap 254 but fell back to 21st 17 laps later. A round of pit stops with 60 laps left allowed Byron to move up to 18th.
- He pitted with 54 left in the race, returning to the track in 23rd. Byron was unable to overcome the tight handling and finished the race in 21st.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 31st
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Johnson started in 18th and jumped up two spots to 16th within the first lap. By the 10th lap he was riding in 15th and stayed there until the competition caution was brought out.
- Johnson pitted and was in 15th again when the race was under green again. He dropped to 28th by lap 52 after he hit the fence and sustained damage. He ended the first stage in that position.
- The seven-time champion had the damage worked on and kicked off Stage 2 in 33rd. He was in 31st 25 laps into Stage 2 and headed to pit road under green. He returned to the track on lap 145 in 32nd. He moved up to 31st a short time later, which is how he ended Stage 2.
- Johnson restarted Stage 3 still in 31st and four laps down. He moved up to 30th halfway through the stage but fell back to 31st a short time later. He remained in that spot to finish the race.
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/TRUCK HERO CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE
FINISHED: 9th
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bowman led all his Hendrick Motorsports teammates with a fourth-place start at Richmond. He dropped to sixth by lap 20 and was in that position for the competition caution.
- Bowman pitted for fresh tires and restarted in fifth but he was back in sixth by lap 41. Bowman kept this position until the stage ended on lap 80, earning valuable stage points.
- The 27-year-old driver restarted in fifth and surged to third at the start of Stage 2. He fell to fourth, then fifth by lap 108. Teammate Chase Elliott passed him by lap 35, pushing Bowman to sixth. He moved up to fifth by lap 141 but fell back to seventh 13 laps later.
- Bowman pitted on lap 158 for fresh tires and came back out in 15th place. With 21 laps left in the second stage, he broke into the top 10. Bowman tried to hold on to 10th but fell to 12th to end the second stage.
- The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was in 10th right after the Stage 3 restart. He pitted and returned to the track on 298 in 15th and settled into 13th with 90 laps to go.
- Bowman maneuvered into ninth place by lap 333. He pitted with 58 laps left and returned to the track in 13th. He moved into 10th with 50 laps remaining in the race.
- Bowman edged up another spot to ninth with 25 laps to go and kept that position until the end of the race.