DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (2.5-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE 18 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 7 P.M. ET, SATURDAY, JULY 7 (NBC/MRN/SIRIUSXM)
Chase Elliott
No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 22 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia
2018 Season
13th in standings
17 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
4 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
8 laps led
Career
94 starts
0 wins
3 pole positions
26 top-five finishes
46 top-10 finishes
926 laps led
Track Career
5 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
50 laps led
HOOTERS CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 DEBUTS: For the first time this season, the orange-and-white Hooters paint scheme will adorn the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. A casual dining establishment with a deep history in NASCAR, the Atlanta-based company will be a two-race primary sponsor of the No. 9 team in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season. Chase Elliott will also pilot the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Richmond Raceway in September.
DAYTONA STATS: Elliott is set to make his sixth points-paying NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona this weekend. In his previous starts, the 22-year-old driver has led 50 laps and averages a starting position of 6.4, winning the pole two consecutive times for the Daytona 500. Elliott won a Duel at Daytona in each of the last two seasons, and was in position to win the 2017 Daytona 500 before running out of fuel from the lead on Lap 198 of 200. He has also competed at Daytona seven times in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, highlighted by a victory in the season-opener in February 2016 and collecting two top-five finishes and three top-10s. Elliott finished ninth in his lone ARCA Racing Series start at the 2.5-mile track in 2014.
DAYTONA VICTORY TOUR: At the beginning of the month, Elliott visited Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) and Daytona International Speedway to promote this weekend’s race at Daytona. While on the ERAU campus, the driver of the No. 9 took his turn inside a flight simulator and met with the ERAU Motorsports, a team of students that build a Formula SAE race car from scratch. For a behind-the-scenes look at Elliott’s day, click here.
HOME SWEET HOME: This weekend, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will return home to the “Birthplace of Speed” and call his 28th Cup Series race at the 2.5-mile track from atop the pit box. Gustafson grew up in Ormond Beach, Florida, just down the road from Daytona International Speedway. After graduating from Seabreeze High School, he enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. At his home track, Gustafson has two Duel wins, both with Elliott (2017, 2018). The 42-year-old crew chief also has two runner-up finishes at Daytona, both in the July race and both with Kyle Busch (2006, 2007). The 2007 second-place result to Jamie McMurray was the closest margin of victory ever in the summer race (0.005 seconds). Gustafson has also won four Daytona pole awards, two with Elliott and one each with Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin.
SEE ELLIOTT AT DAYTONA: On Saturday, July 7, Elliott will appear at the Team Chevy Stage at 4:45 p.m. local time for a question-and-answer session.
DOUBLE DUTY: In addition to his full-time duty piloting the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Cup Series, Elliott will once again compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race driving the No. 23 Chevrolet for GMS Racing on Friday at Daytona International Speedway. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native will also drive the No. 23 Chevy in the upcoming Bristol (Aug. 17) Xfinity race.
DARLINGTON UNVEIL: On Tuesday, July 10, Elliott will reveal his No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 throwback scheme that he will pilot on Sept. 2 at Darlington Raceway. The unveil will take place at 5:30 p.m. local time at the Axalta Customer Experience Center on the Hendrick Motorsports campus and is open to the media. For more information or to RSVP, contact Morgan Overstreet.
William Byron
No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver William Byron Hometown Charlotte, North Carolina
Age 20 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2018 Season
21st in standings
17 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
31 laps led
Career
17 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
31 laps led
Track Career
1 start
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
LIBERTY RETURNS: This weekend, the blue-and-red Liberty University colors will adorn the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the ninth time this season. Liberty is the majority primary partner of the No. 24 team with 13 races in 2018. Liberty University, founded in 1971, offers more than 550 unique programs of study from the certificate to the doctoral level. William Byron, a sophomore majoring in business communications, takes online classes at Liberty, which offers more than 250 programs online, although the 20-year-old driver is currently enjoying a break from college courses over the summer.
AT DAYTONA: After two multiple-car incidents in the season-opening Daytona 500, Byron managed to finish the race, but was relegated to a 23rd-place finish in his initial NASCAR Cup Series outing. While the Charlotte, North Carolina, native might have only one Cup race under his belt at Daytona International Speedway, he’s already a Daytona winner. In his championship-winning 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Byron led 29 laps and scored a victory in the July 1 race at Daytona after starting third, making him the only driver to win after leading the most laps in the last 11 Xfinity races at Daytona. His average finish at Daytona in the Xfinity Series is fifth. Prior to the 2017 season, Byron also raced at Daytona in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series.
LOOKING FOR LADY LUCK: In two Cup superspeedway starts, Byron hasn’t had luck on his side, as he was involved in multi-car incidents at both Daytona and Talladega. However, the rookie of the year points leader led 14 laps at Talladega before being relegated to a 29th-place finish, putting him in second among Chevrolet drivers for laps led at superspeedways in 2018 and making him the youngest driver in Cup history to lead double-digit laps in a plate race. Byron spent 47 percent of the laps he raced at Talladega in the top 10 prior to the Lap-166 accident that left him 29th. With a little luck, he could easily bring home a solid finish at Daytona on Saturday night.
EXPERIENCE ON THE BOX: While Byron might be a rookie, No. 24 team crew chief Darian Grubb is no stranger to restrictor-plate success. He’s earned three wins on the track type, leading three different drivers to Victory Lane.
NO. 24 SPEEDWAY HISTORY: In the No. 24 Chevy, Jeff Gordon earned 12 victories at restrictor-plate tracks, the most of any driver all-time and the most for any car number all-time, and six of those came at Daytona International Speedway. Hendrick Motorsports has 24 wins at restrictor-plate tracks and Daytona boasts the most first-time winners (18) of any track on the Cup circuit, both good omens for Byron.
CLOSE TO HOME: For several members of the No. 24 Liberty University team, Daytona is considered a home track. Rear-tire changer Johnny Roberts grew up in Titusville, Florida, a mere 45 miles from Daytona International Speedway. Roberts has an unusual athletic background, coming from surfing as opposed to traditional sports. He’s been with Hendrick Motorsports since 2010 and in his current position as the starting rear changer since 2014. Engine tuner Billy Fraser hails from Callahan, Florida, which is 115 miles from the Daytona track. Fraser raced go-karts for about 10 years when he was younger. His grandparents owned a race shop and a local dirt track, and he grew up watching NASCAR races with his parents. Fraser knew he wanted to pursue a career in motor sports and molded his college experience around that goal, attending the University of Florida to obtain an engineering degree. He joined Hendrick Motorsports for the 2013 season. Spotter Tab Boyd is also a Florida native, although his hometown of Pensacola is closer to Talladega Superspeedway than it is to Daytona.
HERTZ SWEEPSTAKES: Hertz announced a sweepstakes where with the booking of a Hertz rental car, fans have a chance to be entered to win a VIP race weekend experience in Phoenix by using the provided promotional code when booking the rental car. The grand prize includes a trip for four to Phoenix from Nov. 9-12, four VIP tickets to the Nov. 11 race at ISM Raceway, a meet-and-greet with Byron, a tour of the No. 24 Hertz hauler, pit box seating with pit and garage access, round-trip airfare, a three-night hotel stay, and, of course, a Hertz rental car. The sweepstakes runs from July 1 to Aug. 15. Click here for more information or to enter.
POCONO VICTORY TOUR: On Wednesday, July 11, Byron will visit Boy Scouts Camp Minsi to spend time with the scouts and members of the media, racing canoes and fishing as part of the July Pocono Raceway Victory Tour. Byron himself became an Eagle Scout, the highest achievement rank of the Boy Scouts of America, in 2015 while racing full-time and attending high school. Media members interested in covering the event can reach out to Kevin Heaney, director of content and communications at Pocono Raceway.
Jimmie Johnson
No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 42 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2018 Season
12th in standings
17 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
6 top-10 finishes
2 laps led
Career
596 starts
83 wins
35 pole positions
224 top-five finishes
347 top-10 finishes
18,665 laps led
Track Career
33 starts
3 wins
2 pole positions
11 top-five finishes
14 top-10 finishes
289 laps led
PLATE WINS: Jimmie Johnson is currently second on the list of active drivers for most restrictor-plate wins with five, behind only Brad Keselowski’s six. He has won three times at Daytona International Speedway and twice at Talladega Superspeedway. Johnson’s most recent win at Daytona came in 2013, when he won both the Daytona 500 and the 400-mile race in July before going on to win his sixth NASCAR Cup Series championship in the same season.
PLATES AND TEAMMATES: On three occasions at Daytona, Johnson has been involved in a Hendrick Motorsports one-two finishing effort. In July 2015, Johnson finished just behind former teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. In February 2013, Earnhardt was in Johnson’s rear-view mirror as the driver of the No. 48 Chevy cruised to his second win in the “Great American Race.” Johnson finished in the runner-up position in July 2004 as NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon won the 400-mile event.
RECENT HISTORY: In this race a year ago, Johnson started and finished 12th, leading four laps during the 163-lap event. He suffered misfortune earlier this season as he was taken out of the Daytona 500 in a multiple-car incident in the last lap of the first stage, ending his day on Lap 59.
TEAM CHEVY STAGE: Johnson will make an appearance at the Team Chevy stage on Saturday, July 7, at 4:15 p.m. local time for a question-and-answer session.
SEEKING 84: Johnson’s next trip to Victory Lane will be his 84th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series win. He secured his 83rd in June 2017 to tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough for sixth on the all-time wins list. An 84th win would tie Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for fourth all-time. Johnson is currently 10 wins behind former teammate Jeff Gordon, who has 93 victories and is third on the list. Johnson has the most wins of all active drivers and Knaus has the most wins of all active crew chiefs with 81.
Alex Bowman
No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 25 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2018 Season
15th in standings
17 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
1 top-five finish
6 top-10 finishes
65 laps led
Career
98 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
1 top-five finish
9 top-10 finishes
268 laps led
Track Career
4 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
13 laps led
AXALTA: The Axalta colors will be on board the No. 88 Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. It will be the sixth time this season that Axalta’s primary colors have been on Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet and the first time that it has been the primary partner at Daytona on the No. 88 machine.
BACK WHERE IT STARTED: Earlier this season, Bowman and the No. 88 team sat on the pole for the Daytona 500 and led a total of 13 laps. This weekend, Bowman will make his fifth NASCAR Cup Series start at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. The 25-year-old’s best finish came back in 2014 when he finished the race 13th. So far in 2018, Bowman has led the most laps by a Chevrolet driver at plate tracks with a total of 39 laps led. Bowman has two starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona with an average starting position of 10.0 and an average finishing position of 11.5. Bowman also has one start in the ARCA Racing Series at the track that came back in 2012, when he started 14th and finished 30th.
IVES AT DAYTONA: No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives has called the shots seven times for the No. 88 team at the Florida track. The Michigan native has one win at the track with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2015 after the team qualified on the pole and led 96 of 161 laps. Ives has three pole positions and two top-five finishes at the superspeedway in the Cup Series. In four starts as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series, Ives’ drivers have led 25 laps and captured one top-10 finish. From 2006-2012, Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 team and captured one win (2006), three top-10 finishes and one pole award (2008).
PLATE TRACK SUCCESS: Throughout his career in NASCAR, Ives has found success at plate tracks multiple times. Ives’ cars won the pole for three of the last four plate races including the last two races at Daytona (Earnhardt in July 2017 and Bowman in February 2018). In 2015, Ives won the 400-mile event with Earnhardt as well as the Talladega event that same year. Two of Ives’ three wins in the Cup Series have come at a restrictor-plate track. The crew chief also captured the victory in two Duel events at Daytona with Earnhardt and won the Xfinity race at Talladega with Regan Smith in May 2013.
MEET BOWMAN: The driver of the No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1 will be in the Fanatics area on Friday, July 6, from 2:30 until 3 p.m. local time. Fans can meet Bowman and get autographs at the JR Motorsports merchandise trailer, where gear for the No. 88 team is located.
CHICAGO REWIND: Bowman and the Axalta team qualified 17th for the 400-mile event at Chicagoland Speedway last weekend. The driver of the No. 88 battled loose and tight conditions throughout the race, but with the help of the speedy Axalta pit crew, the team was able to bring home a 10th-place finish. This finish was Bowman’s second top-10 finish in the last two weeks and his sixth overall this season. It marked the first time that Bowman finished inside the top 10 in consecutive races in his Cup career.
VALVOLINE: Hendrick Motorsports partner Valvoline is giving race fans the chance to win a trip for two to Las Vegas to meet Bowman and watch him race on Sunday, Sept. 16. One grand-prize winner will receive a travel voucher for airfare, a hotel stay and car rental courtesy of Valvoline. The winner will also get the chance to be the honorary pit crew member for the No. 88 team, which includes premium seating, behind-the-scenes access, a meet-and-greet with Bowman and other exclusive experiences. Fans can enter here until Aug. 1.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT DAYTONA: Hendrick Motorsports has achieved 14 wins, 18 pole positions, 54 top-five results, 94 top-10s and 2,024 laps led at Daytona. The organization’s 14 wins ranks second all-time at Daytona behind only Wood Brothers Racing with 15. The organization’s 2,024 laps led are the most all-time at Daytona, nearly 300 more than Richard Childress Racing’s 1,734. Hendrick Motorsports’ most recent victory at Daytona was courtesy of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the July 2015 race.
SWEEPING DAYTONA: The last two times a team has swept the top two finishing positions at Daytona has been Hendrick Motorsports, a feat the team has achieved a total of five times. The organization is also the only team to sweep the top three finishing positions at Daytona, courtesy of Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven in 1997.
BREAKING DOWN DAYTONA: Six different drivers have won for Hendrick Motorsports at Daytona – the second-most all-time behind Wood Brothers Racing’s seven. Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Tim Richmond and Geoff Bodine all visited Victory Lane at the track for the organization.
EXTRA WINS: In addition to Hendrick Motorsports’ 14 points-paying wins at Daytona – eight in the Daytona 500 and six in the July race – the organization has also secured 15 Duel wins, six Clash wins and four wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the track.
PLATE SUCCESS: Hendrick Motorsports has a total of 24 wins on restrictor-plate tracks, the most all-time by a single organization. Richard Childress Racing is second with 17. Gordon contributed half of the organization’s total with 12 restrictor-plate wins.
250 ON THE HORIZON: The next points-paying win by a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will be the organization’s milestone 250th in NASCAR Cup Series competition. With 268 Cup victories, only Petty Enterprises has more. Junior Johnson and Associates is third all-time at 153 wins, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing with 153 and Roush Fenway Racing with 137.
16 MAKES 249: Sixteen different drivers have contributed to Hendrick Motorsports’ total of 249 points-paying Cup wins. Only the Wood Brothers team, which has sent 19 different drivers to Victory Lane, has more. Junior Johnson and Associates won with 13 different drivers.
FIRST-TIME WINNERS: If Chase Elliott, William Byron or Alex Bowman wins at Chicagoland, it will mark the ninth time a driver has recorded his first career Cup Series win while driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing share the all-time record, having each sent eight first-time winners to Victory Lane in Cup Series competition.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 249 race victories, 214 pole positions, 1,036 top-five finishes and 1,760 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led more than 67,000 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
Chase Elliott on Daytona conditions in February versus July:
“It’s not a ton different. Typically, the July race is at night and the February race is a little cooler, so, to me, I think it’s pretty close to a wash. For the February race, the sun shines on the track and I think it gets a little slicker, whereas when the sun is down I think the track has more grip and the cars typically handle a little better. To me, I think it’s real similar.”
Elliott on restrictor-plate racing:
“I feel like I have more just accepted plate racing more than I would pick it as my favorite. It’s just one of those things that you have to go do. The points still count the same and you have an opportunity to go and score just as many points there as you do anywhere else. I think that is why it is important to accept, but I feel like I have had a good approach. I feel like we as a team have a good approach. We haven’t had very good finishes to show for our approach and our methods of going about things, but I think that we have had fast enough cars and I feel like I have had good enough feels and have seen things well enough at times to give ourselves a chance. So, I’m going to stick to what I’ve been doing and hopefully it works out.”
Elliott on the Fourth of July weekend:
“The Fourth of July weekend of Daytona is always one of my favorite weeks of the year. Obviously, a very fun race and a fun race weekend, but just a fun week to kind of be down around the beach. So, I like to go down a couple of days early and hang out. I have some friends that live in that area, so I might go down there a couple of days early and spend some time with them.”
William Byron on racing at Daytona:
“Daytona is going to be slick and hot, so the cars are going to handle even worse than they did in the (Daytona) 500, but Talladega was a good race for us until the final 10-15 laps, so I’ve got to look back at what I did before that point. I felt like I was pretty aggressive and got to lead some laps, and towards the end it just didn’t go our way. I think I’ll look back on that and try to understand what I could do better there to have a better result at Daytona. I think our goal is to have a really solid race and just finish the race.”
Jimmie Johnson on racing at Daytona:
“Heading back to Daytona in the summer is usually really toasty. We got a big taste of that last weekend in Chicago. The biggest difference between the 500 Speedweeks is that there is less grip and track position seems to be more important. From a car build standpoint, we have a different approach – but it’s still plate racing and anything can happen, at any time.”
Alex Bowman on night versus day racing at Daytona:
“The track surface temperature changes, so typically at night you would have a little more grip, but that July race it is really hot out, so typically goes the other way a little bit. It will be hot and slick, but it always puts on a good show for the fans.”
Bowman on racing at Daytona:
“It is kind of special to be able to get back to where it all started this year. Starting the season off with the pole for the (Daytona) 500 was definitely a great way to start. We have been a little off this season, but this Axalta team has been working extremely hard to continue progressing both on and off the track. I think everyone is able to see that. (No. 88 team crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the guys are working every day to continue making our No. 88 Camaro ZL1 better and better each week.”
