RICHMOND, Va. – Qualifying at Richmond International Raceway made for a tough Friday for Hendrick Motorsports.
You wouldn’t have known it come Sunday.
Despite only two Hendrick Motorsports drivers qualifying in the top 16, all five finished the race in the top 16, led by Jimmie Johnson in third with Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon joining him in the top 10.
“We had a great race car. We really felt like that was the case on Friday, except for qualifying laps,” said Johnson, who started near the rear of the field. “I don’t know what happened Friday, and in general I’m not the best qualifier. So Fridays, we’ve got to get those better in order to really win as often as we would like to. We’ve got two wins and we’re making the most of these poor starts and poor pit-road picks, but we’ve got to get better on Fridays.
“I really think our race car worked hard to make the last little long run and with all the long runs that we had to be able to get through the field and get this Lowe’s ProServices Chevy up front. I was able to hang on and duke it out with those guys and get a nice, top-three finish.”
The race, which was originally scheduled for Saturday night but was postponed due to inclement weather, was won by Kurt Busch. He made sure to thank “Hendrick horsepower and chassis” in Victory Lane.
Below is a detailed look at how all five Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared Sunday at Richmond.
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 6th
STANDINGS: 6th
RECAP: Kahne started Sunday’s race from near the back of the pack in 40th. But he found the bumper of Johnson’s Chevrolet SS and the teammates joined up to move through the field. Just three laps in, Kahne had picked up six spots, and that trend continued for the first quarter of the race. By Lap 37, he was all the way up to 21st, and just before a competition caution on Lap 50, No. 5 team crew chief Keith Rodden told Kahne over the radio that the “only car better than you right now is Jimmie Johnson’s.” At Lap 69 he was the biggest mover, having gained 24 spots – just ahead of Johnson’s 14 and Earnhardt’s 13. By the time 100 laps had elapsed, Kahne had already found his way into the top 10. Though he lost that position, a great pit stop by the No. 5 team put him back into eighth position for a restart on Lap 171, and he turned that into sixth place on the next lap, passing teammate Gordon in the process. On Lap 205, he made it all the way into the top five. At Lap 251, he lost the position to Johnson, and when a cycle of green-flag pit stops was interrupted by a caution, Kahne found himself back in 10th for a restart on Lap 279. He let his team know that the tight handling of the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS made it very hard to turn and gain position as he fell to 11th with less than 100 laps remaining in the race. He fell to 15th on Lap 338 as he continued to fight the car’s handling. But another speedy pit stop by the No. 5 team helped Kahne restart in 11th with 42 laps to go after a caution for debris. Before another caution was thrown shortly thereafter, Kahne had moved back into the top 10 in ninth. On that restart, yet another caution flag flew, and Kahne had already moved up two more spots to seventh. He kept pushing and took the checkered flag in sixth.
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 8th
STANDINGS: 10th
RECAP: Gordon led the five Hendrick Motorsports cars to the green flag in 11th Sunday afternoon, and he maintained that lead for nearly the entire first half of the race. When the green flag waved, Gordon quickly moved into the top 10 and did not surrender that position. Just 20 laps in he was up to eighth, and 10 laps later he gained another spot to seventh. He found his way to sixth but for the majority of the first half of the race, the top five eluded the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS. Kahne passed Gordon for sixth place during a restart on Lap 171, and he proceeded to battle the handling of the No. 24 Chevrolet SS, falling just outside of the top 10 on Lap 248. Seven laps later, teammate Elliott passed him for 11th position, and when a caution flag interrupted a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Gordon found himself back in 15th for a restart on Lap 279. In three-wide racing, however, he quickly moved up to 13th, and was back in the top 10 by the time there were 100 laps remaining in the event, passing teammates Earnhardt and Kahne in the process. He kept battling, pushing up to eighth on Lap 338. After a caution flag for debris with 50 laps remaining, the No. 24 pit crew got Gordon on and off of pit road in a speedy fashion, allowing him to line up for a restart on Lap 42 in sixth. “Awesome job, guys!” Gordon exclaimed over the radio. Cautions continued to breed cautions, as Gordon moved up to fifth before another caution was thrown, but fell back to sixth again before yet another caution was thrown. He kept battling, taking home a top-10 finish in the process with an eighth-place result.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 25 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 16th
STANDINGS: N/A
RECAP: Elliott began his second career Sprint Cup Series race in 16th, and he remained inside the top 20 all the way to the competition caution at Lap 50, at which point all five Hendrick Motorsports cars were running in the top 20. He took the ensuing restart in 22nd and continued running inside the top 25 until Lap 113, when he found his way back to 20th position, once again putting all five teammates in the top 20. He kept pushing up to 18th, just behind teammate Earnhardt at Lap 150. On Lap 218, Elliott got back to his 16th-place starting position, and just eight laps later he cracked the top-15. On Lap 255, Elliott passed Gordon to reach 11th position, at which point all five Hendrick Motorsports cars were running in the top 12. When a caution flag interrupted a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Elliott wound up in 14th for a restart on Lap 279, and he continued running in the top 15 with less than 100 laps remaining in the event. On Lap 338, he passed teammate Kahne for 14th position. He once again reached 11th before a caution for debris with 50 laps to go, but two more quick cautions following the ensuing restart with 42 laps to go saw Elliott falling back. He held on to take home a 16th-place result.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PROSERVICES CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 3rd
STANDINGS: 4th
RECAP: Along with teammate Kahne, Johnson started Sunday’s race near the back of the pack in 37th. Together, they made sure they didn’t stay back there long. Just 12 laps in, Johnson was inside the top 30. That became the top 20 on Lap 37, and after a competition caution, he kept battling. Johnson reached 12th on Lap 110, and due to a great pit stop by the No. 48 team after a caution flag waved on Lap 128, Johnson took the ensuing restart in ninth, giving him a top-10 position for the first time all race. On another restart on Lap 171, Johnson followed teammates Kahne and Gordon into eighth place. He made it up to sixth place on Lap 248, and even though a caution flag interrupted a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Johnson only lost one position in the process, lining up seventh for a restart on Lap 279. He battled with a number of competitors for that sixth position for the next stretch of the race, losing it and regaining it multiple times. Johnson gained a solid foothold on sixth, and more than that moved into the top five and all the way to fourth with 75 laps remaining. A speedy pit stop by the No. 48 team got Johnson to third for a restart with 42 laps to go following a caution for debris with 50 to go. Those cautions continued to breed cautions, however, and through two more subsequent cautions Johnson managed to stay in third. That is where he would finish the race.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 14th
STANDINGS: 8th
RECAP: Rolling off the grid 26th, Earnhardt slowly began gaining position early in the race. By the time 20 laps elapsed, he had found his way into the top 20, and despite slight contact with a spinning competitor early in the race, he was all the way up to 14th at Lap 40. By the time a competition caution was called on Lap 50, Earnhardt had found his way to 12th, though he restarted 15th. At Lap 69, he was the third-biggest mover with 13 positions gained, just behind teammates Johnson and Kahne. On Lap 103 he found 12th position, and though following two cautions he fell back to 17th position in time for a restart on Lap 171, on Lap 190 he found his way back into the top 15. “It gets better and better in the middle the longer we run,” he told the No. 88 team over the radio. On Lap 228, Earnhardt was up to 12th and told his team that the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS was “real good.” He cracked the top 10 for the first time all race on Lap 248, and even with a caution flag interrupting a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Earnhardt still lined up ninth for a restart on Lap 279. He fell back out of the top 10, however, and for a restart with 42 laps to go, Earnhardt lined up 12th. On the restart, a competitor made contact with him and spun out, causing another caution. On the ensuing restart, yet another caution flag was thrown. Through it all, Earnhardt remained in 12th. Ultimately he held on to stay in the top 15, finishing the race 14th.