Bowman Leads HMS in Historic Top 4 Sweep at Dover

Making history as the owner of a 1 or 2 car team is difficult in NASCAR because so much has to go right. Making history as a 4-car team is near impossible. That being said, the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers of Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and William Byron conspired to put their team in the history books as one of only 3 organizations to EVER finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.

PRE RACE: For the second week in a row, Chase Elliott started from the rear due to inspection issues.

LAP 1: Last week’s winner, Martin Truex Jr, led the field to green and pulled away to a 0.5-second lead.

LAP 22: William Byron in the #24 Chevrolet passed Truex and took over the top spot. Truex’s #19 Toyota began to fade in terms of speed and he fell to 4th place.

CAUTION – LAP 35: The yellow flag waved for the competition caution to allow teams to check tire wear and make adjustments. Kyle Larson won the race off pit road and led from the restart.

STAGE 1 END – LAP 120: On the final lap of the stage, the #14 of Chase Briscoe got loose and hit the wall in Turn 4. Kyle Larson won the stage and picked up the playoff point. Behind him, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick rounded out the Top 5.

CAUTION – LAP 172: The only caution flag in Stage 2 came out when the right-front tire on Josh Berry’s #77 went flat, causing him to hit the wall in Turn 2. Larson won the race off pit road and continued leading from the restart.

STAGE 2 END – LAP 240: Kyle Larson won the second stage, followed by his teammates Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and William Byron, as well as Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Denny Hamlin. Bowman’s #48 pit crew set the fastest pitstop of the season, which put him out front for the restart, where he pulled away from the pack.

CAUTION – LAP 301: The #10 Ford Mustang of Aric Almirola experienced a suspension failure, which caused him to plow into the SAFER barrier in Turn 2, where the car then caught fire. Almirola, who broke his back during a horrifying wreck in 2017, was visibly winded when he got out of the car. However, he was released from the infield care centre without injuries.

CAUTION – LAP 315: While racing on the backstretch, the #47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr made contact with the #38 of Anthony Alfredo. The contact sent Alfredo spinning while Brad Keselowski couldn’t slow down in time and ended up hitting the rear of the #47.

CAUTION – LAP 326: The final yellow flag came out for debris on the front straightaway. The Hendrick quartet stayed out of the pits to remain at the front of the field.

CHECKERED FLAG – LAP 400: Alex Bowman crossed the line to score his 2nd win of the season. Behind him, his teammates of Larson, Elliott, and Byron came home to take 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively.

RESULTS:

1. Alex Bowman
2. Kyle Larson
3. Chase Elliott
4. William Byron
5. Joey Logano
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Tyler Reddick
9. Daniel Suarez
10. Cole Custer
11. Bubba Wallace
12. Ryan Blaney
13. Kurt Busch
14. Austin Dillon
15. Ross Chastain
16. Brad Keselowski
17. Chris Buescher
18. Ryan Preece
19. Martin Truex Jr
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
21. Christopher Bell
22. Erik Jones
23. Ryan Newman
24. Matt DiBenedetto
25. Michael McDowell
26. Corey LaJoie
27. Kyle Busch
28. Anthony Alfredo
29. Quin Houff
30. Josh Berry
31. Cody Ware
32. Garrett Smithley
33. James Davidon
34. Josh Bilicki
35. Chase Briscoe
36. BJ McLeod
37. Aric Almirola