ISM RACEWAY (ONE-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: AVONDALE, ARIZONA
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE FOUR OF 36)
TUNE IN: 3:30 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, MARCH 3 (FOX/MRN/SIRIUSXM)
Chase Elliott
No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 23 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia
2019 Season
14th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
0 laps led
Career
116 starts
3 wins
4 pole positions
33 top-five finishes
60 top-10 finishes
1,243 laps led
Track Career
4 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
1 top-10 finish
0 laps led
ELLIOTT AT ISM RACEWAY: This weekend at ISM Raceway, Chase Elliott will make his seventh NASCAR Cup Series start at the one-mile oval. In his previous six starts, the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has led a total of 156 laps – 140 laps combined in 2017 and 16 laps in Nov. 2018. Elliott has finished top three in two of his last three starts at the venue and he’s finished inside the top 12 in five of his last six ISM Raceway starts, including four top-10s. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native averages a starting position of 6.0 and finishing position of 9.5 (third all-time best average finish at ISM). He has also won two stages at the Avondale, Arizona, track.
LAST TIME IN ARIZONA: Last season, for the second consecutive year, Elliott went into the final race of the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs needing a win to guarantee his spot in the Championship 4. Elliott found himself in the lead on multiple occasions in the penultimate race of the year, challenging for Victory Lane in thrilling fashion. But a win eluded Elliott at ISM Raceway. He was collected in a multiple-car incident while running inside the top 10 with fewer than 50 laps remaining, and the resulting damage was enough to essentially take him out of contention and his bid to race for a title in 2018 came to an end with a 23rd-place finish in the race.
GUSTAFSON AT ISM RACEWAY: No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 29th Cup Series race at ISM Raceway from atop the pit box this weekend. In his previous 28 races calling the shots for five different drivers at the one-mile oval, he collected three wins, nine top-five results – two of which were runner-up finishes – 19 top-10s and 587 laps led. Gustafson’s three wins were with three different drivers (Busch – 2005, Martin – 2009, Gordon – 2011). As the crew chief, he worked with the oldest winner ever (Martin – 50 years, 3 months, 9 days) and the youngest winner ever (Busch – 20 years, 6 months, 11 days) at ISM Raceway.
COMING HOME: No. 9 team fueler John Gianninoto, who grew up in Tucson, Arizona, will compete in front of his hometown crowd at ISM Raceway. Gianninoto graduated with honors from Catalina Foothills High School and went on to sign as an offensive lineman for UNLV in 2006, earning his first letter in 2007 and becoming a team captain in 2010. Gianninoto participated in the Carolina Panthers’ 2012 training camp before signing with Hendrick Motorsports in September 2012. Last season, he set a brand-new Guinness World Record with Sunoco for the most vehicles refueled by an individual in one hour (148).
WCWYW IS BACK: In addition to the return of the “When Chase Wins, You Win” promotion for the third-year, Hooters is revving up the excitement during NASCAR Cup Series race days in 2019. Throughout the season, fans can watch all the action and cheer on Elliott and the No. 9 team while enjoying 15 boneless wings and a pitcher of Mountain Dew or domestic beer (if over the age of 21) for just $15 on race days, only at participating locations. For more information, visit Hooters9.com.
HOOTERS: For the second consecutive week, the orange-and-white Hooters paint scheme will adorn the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. A casual dining establishment with a deep history in NASCAR, the Atlanta-based company will be a three-race primary sponsor of the No. 9 team in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season. Elliott will also pilot the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Dover International Speedway in October. Last weekend, Elliott collected a ninth-place finish in the Hooters Chevy at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
William Byron
No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver William Byron Hometown Charlotte, North Carolina
Age 21 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2019 Season
16th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
65 laps led
Career
39 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
4 top-10 finishes
126 laps led
Track Career
2 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finishes
15 laps led
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media on Friday, March 8, at 3:05 p.m. local time in the ISM Raceway media center.
WHAT SOPHOMORE SLUMP?: Just three races into his second NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron has already made gains behind the wheel of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Kicking off the 2019 season by capturing the pole for the 61st running of the Daytona 500, Byron has an average starting position of 12.6 and an average finishing position of 18th in the first three events. The 21-year-old has led the field for 65 laps cumulatively so far in 2019 compared to 61 laps led throughout the entirety of the 2018 season. Byron is also currently sitting 16th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, compared to 24th at this same point last year.
VENTURING TO THE VALLEY OF THE SUN: Heading to a track where he has found success in every level of national NASCAR competition, Byron will return to ISM Raceway for the third time in his Cup career, a track that ranks third of his best tracks based on the average finish (10.5). Last spring, Byron qualified a track-best 11th, led 15 laps and went on to finish in the 12th position. Returning in the fall, he rolled off the grid 19th but raced his way to his fourth career top-10 in the Cup Series, a ninth-place finish, en route to locking up the 2018 Rookie of the Year award. The 21-year-old driver also has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at ISM Raceway on his resume, both coming in 2017, when he started on the front row and finished in the top four in both races, including a win in November. With that victory, he became the youngest winner ever at ISM Raceway in the Xfinity Series at 19 years, 11 months and 13 days. In 2016, Byron was behind the wheel for the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series race at the one-mile oval, where he led 112 laps and was in the hunt to make the final four of the playoffs before an engine failure ended his night early.
HEATING UP THE DESERT: With Arizona known for its hot climate, Byron will also be bringing the “heat” when he gets to ISM Raceway this weekend for the fourth race of the 2019 season. Byron will once again sport the iconic Axalta flames when Axalta Coating Systems returns to the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the race at ISM Raceway. As a leading global company focused solely on coatings and providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable solutions, Axalta Coating Systems is continuing its 27-year partnership with Hendrick Motorsports as a primary partner for both the Nos. 24 and 88 teams in 2019. The company sponsored Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 team for 23 years beginning in November 1992 before moving to the No. 88 team in 2016 and sharing primary sponsorship with the No. 24 starting in 2018. This year, Axalta returns as the primary partner on the No. 24 Chevrolet for 13 races.
KNAUS’ PHOENIX PROWESS: For the 33rd time as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief, Chad Knaus will sit atop the pit box at ISM Raceway this Sunday. With four wins at the one-mile oval, all coming with Jimmie Johnson, Knaus ranks second among active Cup crew chiefs, just one behind the top spot. He also has three pole awards at ISM Raceway with the No. 48 team.
HOMETOWN HYPE: Coming up on the second stop of the NASCAR Goes West campaign, one member on the No. 24 Axalta team will be heading to familiar territory. Michael “Too Tall” Madill, the rear suspension mechanic for the No. 24 Axalta team, hails from Glendale, Arizona, approximately 30 minutes from ISM Raceway. At the age of 16, he made the move to North Carolina to begin his career in NASCAR. Now 30 years old, Madill is in the midst of his 11th season in the sport and his second with the No. 24 bunch.
SUMMING UP VEGAS: Qualifying 20th for his third NASCAR Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Byron methodically made his way into the top-15 running order by the end of Stage 1 last Sunday. Running just shy of the top 10 during Stage 2, the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 found himself in position to take over the lead as green-flag pit stops began. Knaus opted to play pit strategy, allowing Byron to keep the lead for 21 laps before coming to pit road for a fuel-only stop just shy of the Stage 2 break. Lining up 12th for the start of the last stage, Byron raced his way up to the eighth position but began to slip back as the run progressed and his No. 24 Chevy tightened up. Making one final pit stop during the 267-lap race, Byron tried to regain track position in the closing laps but was ultimately still too tight, finishing last Sunday’s race in 16th.
Jimmie Johnson
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 43 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2019 Season
17th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
0 laps led
Career
618 starts
83 wins
35 pole positions
224 top-five finishes
353 top-10 finishes
18,703 laps led
Track Career
31 starts
4 wins
0 pole positions
15 top-five finishes
20 top-10 finishes
990 laps led
ISM SUCCESS: Jimmie Johnson has four career wins at ISM Raceway, where his average finish is 10.3 – the sixth-best at the track all-time. He trails only Alan Kulwicki, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin. Johnson’s last win at the Avondale, Arizona, track came on Nov. 15, 2009, when he led 238 of 312 laps. His last pole at the track came in November 2015.
WEST COAST WINS: Hailing from the West Coast, it’s fitting that El Cajon, California, native Johnson has the most wins of any driver on West Coast tracks. Johnson has accumulated 15 wins across the tracks considered “West Coast,” including Las Vegas Motor Speedway (four), ISM Raceway (four), Auto Club Speedway (six) and Sonoma Raceway (one). The next winningest driver has 13.
MEENDERING AT ISM RACEWAY: No. 48 team crew chief Kevin Meendering has a stellar record at ISM Raceway with former driver Elliott Sadler in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Over six starts at the track, Meendering has one top-five finish and three top-10s from 2016-2018.
EDUCATING JIMMIE: Before Johnson headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend, he made a stop at Estrella Vista STEM Academy, a K-8 school in Avondale, Arizona, on behalf of ISM Raceway. Johnson drove the pace car out into the schoolyard in front of 970 screaming kids, stayed for a question-and-answer session and signed some autographs. Each child received a junior ticket for Sunday’s event at ISM Raceway. Johnson also toured classrooms and was educated by the students on various STEM-related projects. For more, click here.
VERGE OF A MILESTONE: Johnson is on the verge of 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.
Alex Bowman
No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Driver Alex Bowman Hometown Tucson, Arizona
Age 26 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2019 Season
12th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
Career
120 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
14 top-10 finishes
274 laps led
Track Career
7 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finishes
194 laps led
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media on Friday, March 8, at 3:05 p.m. local time in the ISM Raceway media center.
NATIONWIDE ON BOARD: The primary blue-and-white colors of Nationwide will be featured on the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in 20 NASCAR Cup Series events in 2019. Nationwide will adorn the hood of Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet for this weekend’s event at ISM Raceway and the next two weeks in Fontana and Martinsville. Last August, Hendrick Motorsports and Nationwide extended their primary partnership with Bowman and the No. 88 team for an additional two years beginning in 2019.
WELCOME HOME: Bowman, a Tucson, Arizona, native, has seven starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at ISM Raceway. His best finish of sixth came in the 2016 event when the No. 88 team started from the pole and led a race-high 194 laps. Last fall, Bowman qualified fifth and finished 30th after being involved in an incident late into the 312-lap event. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has six starts at the Arizona track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Bowman’s best qualifying effort of fifth came in 2014 and 2017. In the fall event in 2017, the driver claimed his best finishing position of eighth. In 2011, Bowman ran the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West event at ISM Raceway where he started ninth and led 23 laps en route to a second-place finish.
IVES IN PHOENIX: For the ninth time in his crew chief career in the NASCAR Cup Series, Greg Ives will call the shots for the No. 88 team this weekend at his driver’s home track. The Michigan native claimed the victory in the 2015 fall event at ISM Raceway with Dale Earnhardt Jr. after leading 22 laps. Ives led Bowman to a pole win at the track in 2016 and the No. 88 Chevrolet led 194 laps en route to a sixth-place finish. The crew chief has an average starting position of 9.0 and an average finish of 15.2 in his eight starts at ISM Raceway. Ives has four starts at the venue as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with a best finish of fourth place coming in 2013 with driver Regan Smith. From 2006-2012, Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team. During that time, he was a part of four wins, one pole award and 11 top-five finishes at ISM Raceway.
FAN STAGE: Bowman will make two visits to the INfield Fan Stage at ISM Raceway this weekend. On Friday, March 8, fans can see the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Camaro ZL1 on stage at 2 p.m. local time and again on Saturday, March 9, along with Erik Jones from 11:30-11:45 a.m. local time. The home track driver will participate in question-and-answer sessions both days.
MEET BOWMAN: Bowman will visit the Hendrick Motorsports/JR Motorsports souvenir hauler in the ISM Raceway Fan Zone on Sunday, March 10, from 9:15-9:45 a.m. local time. Fans can purchase No. 88 team gear at the hauler and get it autographed by the Arizona native.
LAS VEGAS REWIND: The No. 88 team qualified 11th for last weekend’s 400-mile race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bowman battled tight conditions throughout the first half of the event, but the No. 88 team continued to make adjustments in the right direction on pit road. The Arizona native finished Stage 2 in the ninth position, earning valuable stage points. In the final stage, the team had to make right-side repairs after the No. 88 Chevy made contact with the wall on Lap 191. Even after the damage, Bowman battled back to finish the event in the 11th position.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT ISM RACEWAY: Hendrick Motorsports leads all NASCAR Cup Series teams all-time at ISM Raceway with 10 wins, 11 pole positions, 47 top-five finishes, and 83 top-10s. The organization also leads the way in laps led (2,651) and runner-up finishes (nine). At least one Hendrick Motorsports driver has finished inside the top 10 in each of the last 14 races at ISM Raceway and in all but one of the last 25 races at the track. At least one of the organization’s drivers has led laps in each of the last seven races at the venue.
DRIVERS FARE WELL IN PHOENIX: Each of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers have at least one top-10 finish in the last five events at ISM Raceway, and at least one driver has started inside the top five in each of the last seven races at the track.
SIX FOR 10: The organization’s 10 wins at ISM Raceway are spread among six drivers, with Jimmie Johnson accounting for four. Jeff Gordon won twice, with Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. accounting for one apiece. Earnhardt recorded the organization’s most recent victory at the track in November 2015. The all-time record for the most different drivers to win for a team at a single track is seven, which Hendrick Motorsports has accomplished twice – at Charlotte and Pocono. Wood Brothers Racing has also accomplished the feat at Daytona.
ISM RACEWAY STREAK: From the spring 2007 race to the fall 2009 race, the organization won six consecutive events at ISM Raceway with drivers Gordon, Johnson (four) and Martin. It ranked third among NASCAR Cup Series teams for most consecutive wins at a track all-time.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 252 race victories, 216 pole positions, 1,045 top-five finishes and 1,789 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led more than 67,800 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
Chase Elliott on how the ISM Raceway track suits him:
“It’s kind of weird because I never really ran good there in the Xfinity Series and ever since I came over to the Cup side, we have had some good runs. Not every time, but most of the time we have had some decent runs there, which has been nice. I really don’t know why. I never really felt like that track suited me very well, but Jeff (Gordon) won some races with (No. 9 team crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) there and I would have to assume that is probably why. I think he has got a good handle on the racetrack more than it is me.”
Elliott on moving the finish line at ISM Raceway:
“The same people ran well there as they always have, so I don’t necessarily think the start-finish thing changed a whole lot. I think the big beneficiaries like I said last year with that whole situation were the fans. The way the sun sets out there, the fans weren’t baking in the sun. Had no effect on us and the same guys that were fast, were still fast and that will continue to be the case. As long as the fans have a better place to sit and watch, I think that is a win.”
William Byron on success at ISM Raceway:
“ISM Raceway is a track I have always enjoyed and have always seemed to run well at in every series. Last fall was an interesting race with the start-finish line moving, but we still had a good race car. We got a top-10 finish, but late-race damage hindered us from finishing better than I think we should have. I’m excited to get back, though, and keep building off the momentum that we have going in 2019 so far.”
Byron on moving the finish line:
“Yeah, the restarts were a lot more challenging once they moved the start-finish line. There were a lot of restarts where you had to control wheel spin and control what was going on from the cockpit a little differently. I would say it’s going to be similar to that this year. It’s going to be more intense restarts. Usually, the Phoenix spring race is a little more laid back because of it being a playoff race in the fall.”
Jimmie Johnson on ISM Raceway:
“I can’t say enough about ISM Raceway and the fan experience they have created. The garages are interactive and the fans can get up close and personal with the teams. The track was already a great racetrack and had great racing but now it’s that much better. This is a true fan experience. Last week visiting with the ISM Raceway staff and the school visit we went to was a great experience for me, personally. Kids rule and knowing that all those kids from Estrella Vista STEM Academy will be in the stands Sunday, the energy they brought was incredible. As far as racing at Phoenix, we have had some fast cars there recently and we are all still working as hard as ever to get back to our winning ways.”
Alex Bowman on what a win at ISM Raceway would mean:
“It is definitely a track that is on my bucket list. I have been close there before so I definitely would like to get a win there and hopefully we can get it done this weekend.”
Bowman on ISM Raceway:
“ISM Raceway is just a cool racetrack. I enjoy that place and I feel like I know what I need in a race car to be successful there. It’s just a fun place to go.”
