CONCORD, N.C. – After 600 miles at Charlotte Motor Speedway, it came down to the final laps.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 team elected to stay off of pit road and gamble that they had enough fuel to make the finish. They did, and Earnhardt was rewarded with a third-place result.
“Way to fight all day,” No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives said over the radio. “That’s awesome.”
Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon were two of the competitors who did head to pit road during the final green-flag stretch, taking home results of 12th and 15th place, respectively.
Chase Elliott took the checkered flag 18th, while Jimmie Johnson, who spun out twice but wasn’t able to save the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet SS before making contact with the wall the second time, finished 40th.
“We came in with an aggressive mindset to bring an aggressive setup in the car, drive aggressively and take chances,” Johnson said, noting that the car’s handling was loose all night.
“We said we were going to come in and swing for the fences. We did, and I hit the fence.”
Carl Edwards took home the win.
Below is a detailed look at how all five Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared in the Memorial Day weekend event.
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 LIFTMASTER CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 12th
STANDINGS: 10th
RECAP: Kahne took the green flag from the 33rd position, but by the competition caution at Lap 25 he had moved up to 29th. Thanks to a speedy pit stop by the No. 5 crew, he took the green flag on the restart from the 24th position. He pushed into the top 20 and maintained that position after a green-flag pit stop, running in 16th when Johnson spinning caused a caution at Lap 90. Thanks to another speedy stop, he took the restart on Lap 94 from the 11th position. He continued running inside the top 15 until a green-flag pit stop near the midway point of the race – he was given a speeding penalty and was forced to drive down pit road a second time. That put him a lap down, and at the midway point of the race he was 29th. But by Lap 258, he had worked his way into the lucky dog position after gaining 11 spots. When a caution flag waved on Lap 273, Kahne was the beneficiary, gaining the lap back. From there, he continued to battle for position. He reported that the car was turning much better than earlier in the race, and with 85 laps remaining in the race, he moved all the way into the top 10. He elected to stay off of pit road when a caution flag waved on Lap 335, and restarted in seventh with less than 60 laps remaining. He settled into eighth place by Lap 345, gaining another position to seventh with 35 laps remaining. He headed to pit road for a green-flag pit stop – however some other competitors, including Earnhardt, elected to stay out. That put Kahne back outside of the top 10, and he came home with a 12th-place finish.
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 15th
STANDINGS: 9th
RECAP: Gordon rolled off the grid 18th, but gained three positions by a competition caution on Lap 25. He restarted 13th thanks to a quick pit stop by the No. 24 crew, and continued pushing toward the top 10. He settled in to 11th place, but after a green-flag pit stop, he was 17th when a spin by Johnson caused a caution on Lap 90. He restarted 21st and fell back in the pack to 29th, noting that the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS didn’t like its most recent adjustment. He continued battling, however, settling into 25th on Lap 118. On a restart after a caution on Lap 136, Gordon found himself in the top 20, and by the midway point of the race he was inside the top 15. That’s where he remained 80 laps later when another caution flag waved. After a caution flag waved on Lap 281, however, the No. 24 team elected to keep Gordon off of pit road, and he restarted eighth – his highest position of the day to that point. He continued running in the top 10, settling into 10th with 80 laps to go. He elected to pit during a caution at Lap 335, restarting 13th. He quickly settled into 14th position, but made it back up to 11th with 35 laps remaining. He headed to pit road for a green-flag pit stop while some other drivers – including Earnhardt – did not, and ultimately took home a 15th-place result.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 25 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 18th
STANDINGS: N/A
RECAP: Elliott began his third career points-paying Sprint Cup Series race 28th, and though he fell back to 32nd by Lap 5, he kept pushing. By the time a competition caution was called at Lap 25, Elliott had worked all the way up to 27th. He took the ensuing restart from 29th, and within 15 laps was up to 25th. After a green-flag pit stop and a caution, Elliott took a restart on Lap 94 from 27th but shot out of a rocket to move to 17th within two laps. On Lap 133, he cracked the top 15. But on a caution just three laps later, a competitor made contact with the No. 25 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS on pit road, and the crew found itself repairing the car on the next few pit stops. At the midway point of the race, Elliott was in 24th running a lap down. He got back inside the top 20 on Lap 280, and though he fell back outside of it, found 20th place again with 85 laps remaining in the race. He kept battling, and ultimately took home an 18th-place result.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PATRIOTIC CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 40th
STANDINGS: 5th
RECAP: Starting 13th, Johnson gained a position by a competition caution on Lap 25. On the ensuing restart, he jumped all the way up to ninth, but when attempting to try running at the top of the track, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet SS fell to 15th on Lap 38. That’s where he continued to run until a cycle of green-flag pit stops, and on Lap 90 he found himself in 13th but noted that the car was getting looser and looser. He proceeded to spin out, but saved the car and drove down pit road to remain on the lead lap. He was given a pit-road penalty, however, and restarted 29th on Lap 94. He fell back to 35th but had already gained 10 positions by Lap 110. When a caution flag waved on Lap 136, Johnson had already made it into the top 20, and by the midway mark of the race he had moved all the way into the top-10. Crew chief Chad Knaus told Johnson over the radio, “You look like a rocket right there, keep it up!” On a restart following a caution at Lap 229, Johnson lined up sixth, and he followed teammate Earnhardt into the top five on Lap 238. However, on Lap 274, Johnson spun out once again and this time made contact with the wall. He drove the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet SS to the garage. With approximately 100 laps remaining, Johnson returned to the track to finish the race 40th.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 3rd
STANDINGS: 4th
RECAP: Earnhardt started Sunday’s 600-mile race in 15th, gaining one position by the competition caution on Lap 25. After a miscue on pit road, however, the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS restarted 25th. He was back in the top 20 on Lap 60. He was up to 12th after a green-flag pit stop when a caution flag waved on Lap 90, and though he took the ensuing restart 16th, he fired all the way up to ninth within two laps. On Lap 122, he cracked the top five, and eight laps later he was running third. Through three cautions and a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Earnhardt still found himself in the top five for a restart on Lap 235, moving from fifth to fourth within one lap. When he found himself outside of the top 10 after Johnson caused a caution on Lap 273, he wasn’t there for long. Restarting sixth, Earnhardt went four-wide down low and almost secured second place before ending up back in fifth when another caution flag waved. After deciding to stay off pit road, he restarted third with a little more than 100 laps to go. He fell just outside of the top five with 80 laps remaining, settling into sixth place. He elected to head to pit road during a caution on Lap 335 when others in the top 10 stayed on the track, so he restarted 11th. He fell back to 13th on Lap 345, but elected not to make a green-flag pit stop for the remainder of the race. That put him in third as the question became whether the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS would run out of gas – and it did not. Earnhardt took the checkered flag in third.