DAYTONA Road Course
Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021
3.56-Mile Road Course
3:00 PM EST
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
TV: Fox logo
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (2 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM logo PRN logo
5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 28 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 7th
No. 5 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
DEBUT PERFORMANCE: In his first start for Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Larson drove the No. 5 NationsGuard Chevrolet to a 10th-place finish in the season-opening DAYTONA 500. Larson led one lap during the 500-mile event and battled for a top-five finish on the final lap before being collected in a multi-car incident in turn three.
ALL FOUR: Larson had four opportunities to score championship points at Daytona International Speedway last week, and he collected each time – one of only four drivers to do so. On Thursday in the Duel qualifying races, points were awarded for the top-10 finishers in each, and he crossed under the checkered flag in seventh in his race. Points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers in each stage during the NASCAR Cup Series season, and the Elk Grove, California, native posted results of fourth and eighth in the two DAYTONA 500 stages, respectively. With his top-10 finish at the end of the 500-mile race, Larson now sits seventh in the point standings.
NEW BUT KNOWN: Larson did not compete in last year’s inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race on the DAYTONA Road Course, but he has experience driving on the similar sports car layout at the Florida track. The 28-year-old driver competed in the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2014 through 2016 and was victorious in 2015. The NASCAR layout has a chicane approaching the start/finish line that is not utilized during sports car events.
RC RACING: Larson, the driver of the No. 5 Camaro ZL1 1LE, has 14 starts on road courses in the Cup Series, posting one top-five finish – fourth at Watkins Glen International in 2014 – and four top-10s. Larson has three pole positions – all at Sonoma Raceway – and two stage victories in those starts.
DAYTONA TOP-FIVE: Crew chief Cliff Daniels was atop the pit box for Jimmie Johnson during the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s final season of full-time NASCAR competition in 2020. While Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott led 34 laps en route to victory in the inaugural DAYTONA Road Course event, the Daniels-led No. 48 Chevrolet finished a strong fourth.
NOTABLE START: Sunday’s event will mark Larson’s 225th start in NASCAR’s premier series. He has six wins, 56 top-five finishes and 102 top-10s since entering the Cup Series in 2013. Larson earned rookie of the year honors in 2014.
UNITED NATIONS: NationsGuard, a program that gives car dealers control of their F&I products and customer experience, will adorn the No. 5 Chevrolet again this weekend at Daytona. It will also appear as the primary sponsor at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Feb. 28. For more information about NationsGuard, click here.
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 4th
No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2020 DAYTONA Road Course winner Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, will be available to members of the media via video conference on Friday, Feb. 19, at 11 a.m. ET. Visit NASCARmedia.com for details.
500 REWIND: Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS team started 12th in the DAYTONA 500 on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway and battled inside the top 10 for the majority of the rain-delayed event. Elliott narrowly missed a last-lap accident and brought home a runner-up finish – his career best in “The Great American Race.”
WORLD CENTER OF (ROAD) RACING: This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will return to the DAYTONA Road Course. During the inaugural event last season, Elliott dominated the race, winning the first stage and leading a race-high 34 laps en route to his second victory of the year. More recently, he started from the rear of the field in the Clash at DAYTONA and battled his way to a runner-up finish in the exhibition race.
NEW SEASON, SAME CHASE: As the NASCAR Cup Series rolls into 2021, Elliott carried over his championship momentum by finishing second at Daytona for his third consecutive top-two result dating back to last season. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet has won three of the last six races and is the only driver to collect multiple victories in that time frame. Elliott has also led 720 laps in the last 11 Cup events, which is 289 more than any other driver.
NAPA KNOW HOW: On Sunday at the DAYTONA Road Course, the No. 9 Chevrolet will feature the familiar blue, white and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme. The Atlanta-based company is serving as majority sponsor for Elliott and the No. 9 team for 25 NASCAR Cup Series races this season.
ROAD COURSE WARRIOR: Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, is set to make his 13th Cup Series start on a road course this weekend. In his previous 12 races, he has collected the most wins (five) and stage wins (five) of active drivers. Elliott has garnered six top-five finishes, eight top-10s and a total of 240 laps led. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native holds the best average finish (8.92) on road courses of active drivers and sixth-best all-time average. Last season, Elliott swept both races on road courses (DAYTONA Road Course and Charlotte ROVAL). The 25-year-old driver also led the most laps (61) on these tracks in 2020.
WINNING RECORD: Elliott continues to prove his road-course prowess after winning four consecutive races on road courses and five of the last seven. Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon holds the record for most consecutive road-course wins with six (1997-2000). Elliott is also the youngest driver to win a road course race (22 years, 8 months, 8 days) and holds the overall second-best win percentage (41.7 %) behind only Dan Gurney (55.6 %).
HOMETOWN WIN: Last season’s win at the inaugural DAYTONA Road Course race was crew chief Alan Gustafson’s first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at his home track. He hails from 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 study mechanical engineering. Gustafson is in his 17th full-time season as a crew chief and sixth year with Elliott. He has called the shots for five different drivers (Elliott, Gordon, Mark Martin, Casey Mears and Kyle Busch).
GUSTAFSON ON ROAD COURSES: Gustafson will call his 35th road-course race from atop the pit box this Sunday at Daytona. In his previous 34 starts, the Florida native has garnered five wins, the most of active crew chiefs, 10 top-five finishes, 16 top-10s and 297 laps led.
FIT FOR THE CHAMP: Last week at Daytona, Elliott was outfitted with his very own WWE title. WWE Superstars Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford, better known as the Street Profits, presented the reigning champion with a WWE title that features customized side plates. Elliott is the first NASCAR Cup Series champion to receive this honor. Click here to see the presentation.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 23 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 26th
No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
ONE DOWN, 35 TO GO: Kicking off the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season at Daytona International Speedway, driver William Byron showed speed all week in his No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. He opened Speedweeks with a top-five finish in the Clash at DAYTONA, which was run on the facility’s road course. Byron followed it up with the second-fastest lap in qualifying for the DAYTONA 500, just behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman. Starting from the pole Thursday night in the second qualifying race, Byron led 34 laps in the 60-lap event but was caught in an on-track incident that forced the team into a backup car. Having to start at the tail end of the field for “The Great American Race,” Byron was maneuvering through the field when he was collected in a multi-car incident on lap 14. After a weather delay, the No. 24 team was able to repair Byron’s machine to complete the race and salvage a 26th-place finish.
ALL ABOUT AXALTA: After its first appearance on track last week, Byron will once again pilot the newly designed No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Sunday’s race at the DAYTONA Road Course. While the No. 24 Chevrolet has been synonymous with the iconic flames paint scheme, 2021 brings a new look for Byron’s Axalta machine. Keeping an old-school flair with a twist, Axalta Coating Systems unveiled its new colors for the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in January. Utilizing a matte black base, Byron’s Chevy features bright stripes in an array of colors that are hard to miss on the track. Now in its 29th year of partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta returns as primary partner on Byron’s No. 24 for 14 races in 2021. For a better look at the new No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, click here.
MAKING LEFT AND RIGHT TURNS: Byron got his first taste of the DAYTONA Road Course last season, and he’s confident about Sunday’s race. Last year, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native scored points in both stages before earning an eighth-place finish. Most recently, Byron ran the Clash at DAYTONA last Tuesday, which was held on the road course for the first time. In the non-points exhibition race, Byron started and finished fifth despite suffering a late-race flat tire.
RINGER IN THE MAKING: Even with a limited background in road-course racing, Byron has become accustomed to it quickly. In 2019, he recorded his first career Cup Series stage win at Sonoma Raceway in June after qualifying second. Since then, the 23-year-old driver has finished in the top 10 in the last three road-course events. Byron has also led more than 20 laps in three of the last five road-course races and led the second-most laps (27) on road courses in 2020, just behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who led 61.
‘ROOKIE’ RUDY: Crew chief Rudy Fugle made his Hendrick Motorsports and Cup Series debut atop the pit box for Byron during Speedweeks last week. While the results may not reflect it, the pair lodged small victories along the way. Now, the Fugle-Byron duo will make a return trip to the 3.56-mile DAYTONA Road Course for Sunday’s race after competing there last week in the 35-lap Clash exhibition that kicked off 2021. Fugle also has one other DAYTONA Road Course start under his belt, coming last season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with driver Christian Eckes, who started second and raced to a 12th-place result.
AXALTA ELECTROLIGHT: Last week, Axalta unveiled the newest addition to the Axalta Injector at Daytona International Speedway – a newly painted No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that will be on display for fans to see all year long. The car on display combines Axalta’s new solventbourne basecoat, Cromax XP, with its 2021 Color of the Year, Electrolight. The refreshing green-yellow hue has been formulated with mobility-technology while utilizing the easy-to-use solventborne basecoat that delivers a high-quality finish. Axalta and Byron recently announced that the No. 24 team will run a 2021 Color of the Year Electrolight paint scheme for the Pocono Raceway doubleheader in June.
48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 27 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 36th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
FRONT-ROW SUCCESS: In his four DAYTONA 500 qualifying efforts with Hendrick Motorsports, Alex Bowman has sat on the front row each season. The Tucson, Arizona, native is the only driver in history to sit on the front row of “The Great American Race” in four consecutive starts. Bowman captured the pole award in 2018 and 2021 and started second in 2019 and 2020. Crew chief Greg Ives is the only crew chief in DAYTONA 500 history to earn a front row starting position in five consecutive seasons. Ives’ drivers have sat on the front row since Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified second for the 2017 event.
DAYTONA 500 RECAP: After starting on the pole for the 63rd running of the DAYTONA 500, Bowman was running in fourth place on lap 10 and sat in third one lap later. While running the high line, the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet was collected in an incident, which ended Bowman’s day on lap 14. The team was scored with a 35th-place finish at the conclusion of the event.
ROAD-COURSE STATS: Bowman has 12 starts on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series, which includes two top-five finishes and four top-10s. The driver of the No. 48 Camaro finished inside the top 15 in all eight of his road-course starts while driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman’s average finish of 9.6 at these venues while driving for the 13-time championship organization is fourth-best among active drivers since 2018. His two top-five results came in 2018 and 2019 on the Charlotte ROVAL where he has an average finish of 4.6. Last year at the DAYTONA Road Course, Bowman rolled off 27th and finished 12th even after suffering a flat tire early in the 65-lap event. During the Clash at DAYTONA last week, the No. 48 Ally team started second following a random draw and finished seventh after 35 laps.
IVES ON A ROAD COURSE: Crew chief Ives has 14 starts on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Bark River, Michigan, native has two top-five results and six top-10s at road courses in the series. Under Ives’ leadership, Bowman has two events on the DAYTONA Road Course under his belt since last year, with the most recent outing coming last week during the Clash.
NEW YEAR, NEW LOOK: Ally Racing revamped its website for the 2021 season, giving fans a place to learn more about the No. 48 team’s pit crew members and driver Bowman. A digital hero card is available for download for fans not able to visit the track this year. Learn more about Bowman’s famous four-legged sidekicks, as well as his No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE specs. Visit the new website to learn more about the team and to purchase your 2021 gear.
KINGS OF THE ROAD: Hendrick Motorsports has won an all-time record 20 points-paying races on road courses in NASCAR Cup Series competition, which is eight more than any other organization. Six different drivers have contributed to the team’s victory total: Jeff Gordon (9), Chase Elliott (5), Tim Richmond (3), Jimmie Johnson, Geoff Bodine and Ricky Rudd.
AS OF LATE: Since 2019, Hendrick Motorsports has won five of the seven Cup Series road-course races, all courtesy of Elliott. In that span, the team has won five of 10 stages, led 252 of 463 laps (54%) and earned the pole for two of the three events in which qualifying was held.
LAST SEASON: In 2020, Hendrick Motorsports led 90 laps on road courses, nearly three times the total of the next-best team (31). It led the Cup Series in wins (two), top-five finishes (three; tie) and top-10s (six). Last season, the organization’s average finish of 6.63 on road courses ranked as the best of all teams – by nearly six positions.
AT THIS STAGE: Although Hendrick Motorsports has the youngest driver lineup in the series in 2021, three of them have won at least one stage in Cup road-course action. Elliott has five stage wins, Kyle Larson two and William Byron one.
POLE STREAK: Alex Bowman’s performance in last Wednesday night’s DAYTONA 500 qualifying session secured Hendrick Motorsports’ record-extending 227th Cup Series pole position and stretched the team’s run of consecutive seasons with at least one pole to 38. The streak dates back to Hendrick Motorsports’ first year in NASCAR when Bodine delivered three poles starting with Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 25, 1984.
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his first DAYTONA Road Course race: “It’ll be a challenge since I haven’t turned a lap on the road course at Daytona in a Cup car yet, although I have run a couple sports car races there. Those are two very different type cars, but at least I have some laps on the track. (Crew chief) Cliff (Daniels) has some experience with Jimmie (Johnson) there last year and they had a good run, so that gives me confidence. I was able to watch last year’s race, watch some onboard footage to get an idea of shifting and braking points and look at some data. Last week during the Clash, Cliff and I were able to watch it together and discuss some things. I think we’ll have a good starting spot, too, but it’ll be a challenge definitely.”
Larson on his DAYTONA 500 finish: “I wish we could have finished a little bit better in the DAYTONA 500, but we were able to score some points in the Duel, score points in each stage and come out with a top-10 finish even after being collected in the last-lap crash. I hope we can build on that this weekend.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his approach to DAYTONA Road Course race: “We’re going with a realistic approach. I know the success of our (Hendrick Motorsports) cars and I know how our cars are built. Chase has won the ROVAL (at Charlotte Motor Speedway) a couple times, he won the DAYTONA Road Course event last year and we ran up front with the 48 (car driven by Jimmie Johnson). We have decent idea of how race strategy will play out and we have covered a lot of different scenarios – although every situation is unique. But we are taking a very realistic approach of how to put ourselves in position. There are calls you can make that are too conservative and calls that are too aggressive. We have discussed a lot of scenarios in our strategy meetings to prepare us to make the right call when needed.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on 2021 road courses: “Road courses have been good to us the past few trips, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to go good every time. There has not been one part of me that watched the schedule change, saw seven road courses and thought, ‘Yeah, we’ve got it now.’ That’s just not how I am. At the end of the day, you have to be good everywhere and I want to be good everywhere. We as a team want to get to the point where we can win on any given week: road course, circle track, intermediate, dirt…whatever it is, we want to be able to win at any time. The great teams and the great drivers are capable of doing that, and I think we are capable doing that. So that’s where my head’s at – trying to be good everywhere.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on what the team learned from the Clash: “I didn’t feel like we were as good as we needed to be during the Clash. We did have a lot of circumstances that prohibited us from kind of working our way up – some of our own doing, some not. The windshield was one certainly, our strategy and execution was also pretty poor. We had to come back from those things and ultimately we were headed towards the front and I think we were probably in our best position until Martin (Truex) crashed. We didn’t need that caution because we were out of tires. We weren’t as good as we wanted to be, for sure. We are going to try and improve a little bit and give Chase a better car so we are focused on trying to do that for this weekend.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on gaining road course racing knowledge: “I don’t have a ton of experience on road courses, but I have gotten much more comfortable with them the last couple years and I think our most recent races show that. We haven’t had a ton of track time at the DAYTONA Road Course but running the Clash last week helped us dial things in a bit better. Starting position is a big factor as well and, unfortunately, we won’t have the best starting spot based off the scoring metric. There are ways to make up positions on road courses, depending on the strategy you use. We’ll take the notes we have and do what we need to do to get a good finish.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to the DAYTONA Road Course: “We definitely have confidence for this Sunday’s race, especially after running there last week. The handling wasn’t where we wanted it when the race started but we made good adjustments throughout the race and were able to really learn about what we can expect when we go back. Tire fall off was pretty high, and we can expect conditions to be pretty similar Sunday. We fought through adversity during the Clash but if we can execute like we need to this weekend, I think there a very good chance we’ll be in contention for the win.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to the DAYTONA Road Course: “Coming back to the DAYTONA Road Course this week will, hopefully, be good for our team since we just ran this course last week in the Clash. During the Clash, we were in contention for win a couple times. We had some speeding penalties but thankfully worked those out later in the week. There is a lot that we learned last week that we can definitely apply to Sunday’s race. Getting taken out of the 500 early last week, I think this Ally team needs some redemption on Sunday.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on using the Clash as a road-course blueprint: “We are fortunate to have the experience of running the Clash. We know we have a good road-course car and can fine tune some details to get it better for Alex. The Clash really gave us a better understanding of what we are needing to do to improve the car. I am dreading seeing what calculation decides where we will start, since our DAYTONA 500 finish was not where we needed to finish. All in all, we have a good car and we have to be smart.”
