Alex Bowman, the driver of the #88 AXALTA All-Pro Teachers Chevrolet, leads Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Caramel Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 29, 2018, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Alex Bowman finished third in Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway, a high-water mark in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career.

Teammate William Byron came home sixth, also a career best for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender.

And with Chase Elliott finishing seventh, Hendrick Motorsports placed three drivers in the top-ten for the first time since October of last year at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Bowman was fourth for the final restart in overtime, but grabbed third at the stripe, narrowly holding off six-time winner Kevin Harvick.

“Obviously it was a great points day for us, but on top of that, it’s proof that we’re improving each and every week and continually getting better,” Bowman said. “Obviously, we’re not doing it as quickly as we want to, but days like today make all the hard work for the guys back at the shop, the engine shop, the chassis shop, body shop, the whole road crew—days like today make it worth it.

“Very glad, especially considering how bad we were when we started the weekend and how bad we qualified. To come out of here with a solid top five is a great day. Obviously, wish it would have been a little better, but I think we kind of had Pocono circled as a place that we thought we had pretty good race cars, and the 9 (Elliott) was really good especially last race. We knew we were going to be pretty strong here.”

It showed, and the performance left Bowman 15th in the series standings, enhancing his Playoff prospects.