Great day to drive for Hendrick.
The Winner
Alex Bowman won the race, with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates 2nd, 3rd, and 4th (Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron, in order).
The Race
It was looking like Larson’s to lose, with Elliott pushing him hard after starting from the back for failing multiple inspections. But on a day when passing was difficult, Bowman’s pit crew put him in front late, and he held on.
Notable Names
Joey Logano finished 5th.
Kevin Harvick was 6th.
Denny Hamlin was 7th.
Tyler Reddick was 8th.
Daniel Suárez gets a mention, coming in 9th.
Cole Custer cracked the top ten.
Bubba Wallace was 11th.
Ryan Blaney finished 12th after getting a well-timed caution early in the race—he’d hit a piece of debris which punched a hole in his nose, got stuck, and cut down his tire, but the yellow flag waved at just the right time.
Kurt Busch was 13th.
Austin Dillon was 14th.
Brad Keselowski was 16th.
Chris Buescher was 17th.
Martin Truex Jr. was 19th.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was 20th and wrecked Anthony Alfredo.
Christopher Bell was 21st.
Erik Jones was 22nd.
Ryan Newman was 23rd.
Matt DiBenedetto was 24th.
Michael McDowell was 25th.
Kyle Busch was 27th, with some major engine problems that set him back early.
Chase Briscoe hit the wall hard early and finished on the track but 35th.
Aric Almirola’s car broke, leading him to hit the wall hard and catch fire. Last place, which was 37th yesterday.
Standings
Halfway through the pre-playoff portion of the schedule. Thirteen to go before the chase begins. Do they still call it the Chase?
1. Truex (3 wins)
2. Bowman (2 wins)
3. Byron (1 win)
4. Logano (1 win)
5. Larson (1 win)
6. Blaney (1 win)
7. Keselowski (1 win)
8. Kyle Busch (1 win)
9. Bell (1 win)
10. McDowell (1 win)
11. Hamlin (293 points ahead of first driver out)
12. Elliott (151 points ahead of first driver out)
13. Harvick (146 points ahead of first driver out)
14. Dillon (60 points ahead of first driver out)
15. Buescher (28 points ahead of first driver out)
16. Reddick (last driver in, 17 points ahead of first driver out)
17. DiBenedetto (first driver out, 17 points behind last driver in)
18. Kurt Busch (30 points behind last driver in)
19. Stenhouse (32 points behind last driver in)
20. Newman (38 points behind last driver in)
21. Wallace (49 points behind last driver in)
***
25. Custer (79 points behind last driver in)
26. Jones (95 points behind last driver in)
27. Briscoe (98 points behind last driver in)
28. Almirola (129 points behind last driver in)
Thoughts, Implications
Almirola can’t catch a break. Stenhouse has now spun folks two weeks in a row. Reddick had another great week and narrowed his gaps with Buescher and Dillon, each of which could end up being the playoff bubble gap. It’s curious how Hamlin, Elliott, and Harvick all haven’t won after two of those were dueling all of last season and the other ended up winning the championship. Guess it’s still fairly early in the year, though, and they’re all getting their points for the most part (Hamlin’s in first on raw points by over 100, Elliott and Harvick are 7th and 8th respectively).
What’s Next
They’re coming to pay us a visit here in Austin this weekend over at Circuit of the Americas. Road course time.
Videos, Fun Stuff
The winning pit stop:
Bowman’s burnout started an actual fire:
Almirola also caught fire, and not in the fun way (he’s ok, per him):
Stenhouse spinning Alfredo (with a tap from Keselowski):
Kyle Busch impersonator alert:
A little three-wide (almost four-wide) action:
Keselowski avoided getting in big, big trouble with his team:
Briscoe hitting the wall trying to hold off Larson (Larson didn’t touch him, as you’ll see):
Briscoe’s car…filling with foam? Whoa.
