Road America
Sunday, July 4, 2021
4.048-Mile Road Course
2:30 PM ET
Location: Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
TV: Fox logo
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (20 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN
5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 28 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 2nd
No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
OH SO CLOSE: On Saturday at Pocono Raceway, Kyle Larson entered the 325-mile event searching for his fourth consecutive points-paying victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. Leading with one corner to go, a flat tire on the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE sent Larson into the wall. The 28-year-old driver was still able to finish ninth while Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman secured the victory. On Sunday in a backup car, Larson started from the rear of the field and saved enough fuel at the end of the 350-mile race to finish second.
CLOSING IN: Following the season’s 11th race at Kansas Speedway in May, Larson ranked ninth in the driver standings, 144 markers behind the leader. In eight points-paying events since, Larson has scored eight top-10s, including three wins and four second-place finishes, for a 2.5-average result. In that span, he has moved up seven spots to second in the standings and now trails the leader by only two points.
FIRST TIMER: In June at Sonoma Raceway, Larson won both stages and led 57 of 92 laps en route to his first Cup Series road course victory. Overall, he has 17 starts on road courses in the Cup Series with three top-five finishes, six top-10s and four stage victories (second-most all-time). In sports cars, Larson competed in the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2014 through 2016 and was victorious in 2015.
NEARLY HALF: Larson has finished first or second in nine of 19 (47%) NASCAR Cup Series races this season. He won at Nashville Superspeedway, Sonoma, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway while posting second-place finishes at Pocono, Circuit of The Americas, Dover International Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. He also won the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway in June.
TOP OF THE BOARD: Through 19 of 36 Cup Series races, Larson leads the series in wins (four), second-place finishes (five), stage wins (12), playoff points (32), top-five finishes (11) and laps led (1,441). He is tied for most pole positions (one) and most top-10s (14).
BEEN THERE BEFORE: In June 2013, Larson competed in the NASCAR Xfinity race at Road America. After qualifying 13th, the Elk Grove, California, native drove the No. 32 entry to a seventh-place finish at the Wisconsin track.
SUMMER ROAD TRIP: This week, Larson will participate in several Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek events. On Monday night at Lincoln Speedway, Larson finished third and, on Tuesday night at Grandview Speedway, he finished first. On Wednesday night, he will race at Port Royal Speedway and on Thursday evening at Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland.
QUICK WORK: At 13.61 seconds, the No. 5 pit crew owns the quickest average time for four-tire pit stops in 2021. The over-the-wall crew is comprised of gasman Brandon Harder, jackman Brandon Johnson, tire carrier R.J. Barnette and tire changers Donnie Tasser (front) and Calvin Teague (rear).
YOUR CAR NEEDS: This weekend, Larson will drive the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. From the convenience of home, customers can select the category, make, model and vehicle packages that are important to them from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs available at HendrickCars.com. The website also makes it easy for customers to find one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealership locations nationwide.
WE’RE HIRING: Hendrick Automotive Group is hiring 300-plus technicians at its dealerships throughout the country. Positions are open for all skill levels and offer tuition and training reimbursement. Interested people can apply at HendrickCars.com.
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 6th
No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
ROAD COURSE REPORT: Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, is set to make his 16th NASCAR Cup Series start on a road course this weekend at Road America. He has garnered six wins (2018, 2019 –Watkins Glen; 2019, 2020 – Charlotte ROVAL; 2020 – the DAYTONA Road Course; 2021 – COTA), eight top-five finishes, 10 top-10s and a total of 302 laps led at road courses. In 2021 on road courses, Elliott has led the most laps of all drivers (62).
GOOD COMPANY: Elliott’s six road course wins tie him with NASCAR legends Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Richard Petty and Bobby Allison for the third-most all-time road course wins behind Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight).
NOTEWORTHY NUMBERS: Elliott’s wins account for six of the last 10 road course victories. He is the youngest driver to have six road course wins and he remains the youngest road course winner at 22 years, 8 months, 8 days. Elliott has led laps in the last eight road course races, the Cup Series’ longest active streak. The driver of the No. 9 also holds the best average finish (8.73) of active drivers and the fifth-best all-time average of drivers with at least five starts. Elliott has also garnered the most stage wins (six) of all time at road courses.
GUSTAFSON ON ROAD COURSES: Crew chief Alan Gustafson will call his 38th road course race from atop the pit box this Sunday at Road America. In his previous 37 starts, the Florida native has garnered six wins, the most of active crew chiefs, 12 top-five finishes, 18 top-10s and 359 laps led.
ELLIOTT IN ELKHART LAKE: While Sunday will be Elliott’s first Cup start at Road America, he has already logged laps in two races at the 4.048-mile course in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In those starts at Road America, he earned two top-five finishes – both fourth-place results – led 23 laps and averaged a starting position of 7.0 and finishing position of 4.0.
MID-YEAR RUNDOWN: The Cup Series is officially past the halfway point of the 2021 season and Elliott has one win, eight top-five finishes (four of which are runner-up results), 10 top-10s and has led a total of 129 laps. He has also spent 1,613 laps inside the top five and 3,003 laps running in the top 10. Elliott currently sits sixth in the driver point standings, 128 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.
SPEEDY STOPS: Heading into Road America, the No. 9 team owns the second-best average time for four-tire pit stops at 13.7 seconds through 19 races. The NAPA pit crew is comprised of jackman T.J. Semke, gasman John Gianninoto, tire carrier Jared Erspamer and tire changers Chad Avrit and Nick O’Dell.
NAPA KNOW HOW: The No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will don the familiar blue, white and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS paint scheme this weekend at Road America. The Atlanta-based company is serving as majority sponsor for Elliott and the No. 9 team for 25 NASCAR Cup Series races this season.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 23 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 3rd
No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
BEST YEAR YET: While it’s only halfway into the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron is having his best year yet at the highest level of competition. So far, Byron has collected one win (Homestead-Miami Speedway), eight top-five finishes and 14 top-10s all while leading 230 laps and collecting two stage wins. His eight top-five results are the most the 23-year-old driver has had in a season at the Cup level and his 14 top-10s tie his previous best in a season, as well.
HALFWAY HOME: After hitting the halfway point in the 2021 season, Byron is coming off a top-three result from Saturday’s race at Pocono Raceway and a 12th-place finish on Sunday after a fuel mileage gamble to score the victory didn’t pan out. However, after 19 races, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native continues to be consistent every week. He’s spent 3,815 laps running in the top 10 – the second-most in the series – and 2,118 laps in the top five – the third-most throughout the field. Byron maintains the second-best average running position in the Cup Series of 8.31 and improved his average finish to 9.9, allowing him to maintain the third position in the point standings.
RETURNING TO ROAD AMERICA: While Road America will mark a new experience for some, both Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle have been to the Wisconsin-based road course one prior time in their NASCAR careers. Fugle called the shots on top of the pit box at Road America in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2015 while Byron’s one start also came in the Xfinity Series in 2017, where he raced to a sixth-place finish.
ROAD COURSE RESULTS: Despite limited road course racing in his background, Byron has stepped up his road course skills during his time in the Cup Series, finishing in the top 10 in three of the last six races. In four of the last eight road course events, Byron has led the field, including leading the most laps during last year’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL. In fact, Byron led the second-most laps on road courses during the 2020 season.
ROAD COURSE RUDY: While Fugle may have limited experience at Road America, the Livonia, New York, native is no stranger to success on road courses. Fugle and Byron already have three road course starts together in 2021 – two at the DAYTONA Road Course and at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). For the Clash exhibition race, the No. 24 raced to a solid fifth-place result, but bad luck struck the team for their return trip two weeks later, resulting in a 33rd-place finish after Byron suffered a flat tire with two laps to go. While battling the rainy weather at COTA, Byron was running inside the top five before suffering damage from a competitor. The No. 24 team was able to rally to 11th before the race was called early due to the conditions. Aside from those three road course starts in the Cup Series, Fugle has seven other road course races under his belt, all coming in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In those seven starts, he has one win (Erik Jones, 2015), three top-five finishes and five top-10s. One of those seven truck starts was with Byron and the duo raced to a 10th-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in 2016.
LIBERTY U: Byron will climb behind the wheel of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE this weekend when the Cup Series takes on Road America for the first time. Redesigned for the 2021 season, the new paint scheme features a white base with navy flames and red accents, the Liberty University No. 24 will be sure to stand out on track. Liberty University has a long history with Byron starting back in 2014 in the late model ranks. Liberty University has been Training Champions for Christ since it was founded in 1971. Located in the mountains of Central Virginia, Liberty is a liberal arts institution with 17 colleges and schools that offers more than 600 degree programs from the certificate to the doctoral level, on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in communications, Byron is in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program. For a better look at Byron’s new Liberty University paint scheme, click here.
48 Alex Bowman
Age: 28 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 11th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
WINNER, WINNER: On Saturday, Alex Bowman claimed his third victory of the 2021 season after leading 16 laps at Pocono Raceway. After starting second on the front row on lap 112, Bowman was quickly pushed to the lead and maintained that position until teammate Kyle Larson got around him 15 laps later. Bowman settled into second for the final three laps until Larson had a tire go down and Bowman was able to cross the finish line first. This is Bowman’s first career victory at the 2.5-mile triangle venue and his third win this season with the No. 48 Ally team.
BOWMAN WINS, PETS WIN: Through the yearlong initiative between Ally and the Best Friends Animal Society, when Bowman wins a race, a local shelter receives $10,000 from him and primary sponsor Ally. Last weekend, Ally donated $10,000 and Bowman donated another $1,000 to the Animal Food Bank of Lehigh Valley in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, which is located 50 miles away from Pocono. The organization donates pet food to those experiencing economic distress, and these distributions are held twice a month. Their mission is to keep companion animals in loving homes and prevent their surrender to the shelter system by supplying families with pet food when they need it. Every week, Ally and Bowman each make a $1,000 donation to a local animal shelter in the race market. That donation gets bumped up if the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet clinches a victory.
2021 AT A GLANCE: So far this season, Bowman has three wins, five top-five finishes and 10 top-10s, which is tied for seventh most top-10 results in the series with Chase Elliott. The 28-year-old has led 151 laps and is currently ranked fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings after 19 events. Bowman’s three wins this season are tied for second with Martin Truex Jr. in the Series. All five of Bowman’s Cup Series victories came on a different track and all three of his wins in 2021 occurred in the last 11 events.
BOWMAN ON ROAD COURSES: In 2013, Bowman had one start at Road America in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. After starting 15th, he finished 24th after he was involved in an incident on the last lap of the 55-lap event. In the Cup Series, the Tucson, Arizona, native has 15 starts at road courses and has two top-five finishes and seven top-10s. Bowman has finished inside the top 15 in all 11 road course starts while behind the wheel for Hendrick Motorsports and has an average finish of 9.45, which is the third best among active drivers since the start of 2018. The No. 48 team has placed in the top 10 in all three road course events in 2021 and currently has a four-race streak of top-10 finishes, which ranks second among active drivers.
IVES AT ROAD AMERICA: No. 48 crew chief Greg Ives has called the shots at Road America once in the Xfinity Series with driver Regan Smith in 2013. Smith brought home a 32nd-place result after a last-lap incident. Ives has 17 starts as a crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports on road courses and his drivers have captured two top-five results and nine top-10s.
CLOSE TO HOME: Car chief Austin Konetski grew up in Rockford, Illinois, which is approximately 149 miles away from Road America in Wisconsin. Konetski ran super late models at Slinger Speedway in Slinger, Wisconsin, which is only 43 miles away from the Elkhart Lake track. He raced go-karts, dirt modifieds and asphalt super late models growing up, eventually signing on with Hendrick Motorsports. He’s been with the organization eight years, two of which he was part of the Cup Series championship with Jimmie Johnson. Reuben Kauffman, the No. 48 underneath mechanic, grew up in Loganville, Wisconsin, which is 137 miles from the road course venue. Kauffman is from an Amish family and decided to leave the community in 2012 to come to North Carolina to work on race cars. In Wisconsin, Kauffman had experience working in his family’s cabinet shop and once he settled in North Carolina, he earned a position at Chip Ganassi Racing in fabrication. This is Kauffman’s second season with Bowman and Ives.
PIT CREW POWER: During the 2021 season, the No. 48 pit crew ranks third for the fastest four-tire pit stop average in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team has an average four-tire stop time of 13.71. The No. 48 pit crew includes fueler Jacob Conley, tire carrier Allen Stallings, jackman Dustin Lineback, and tire changers Scott Brzozowski (front) and Devin DelRicco (rear).
STAYING OUT FRONT: Through the last seven races, Hendrick Motorsports has six points-paying wins, five runner-up placements and has finished 1-2 in four of those races. Across all four teams, the drivers have totaled 17 top-five finishes, 21 top-10s, nine stage wins of the 15 completed and led a combined 1,203 of the 1,516 laps raced, or 79%.
CROWN THE KINGS: Hendrick Motorsports continues to show its road course strength, taking home wins in six of the last seven road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series. The four drivers have worked to score nine stage wins and have led 436 laps across the last seven road course events, starting with Chase Elliott’s win at Watkins Glen in August 2019 and stretching to its most recent win at Sonoma in June. Elliott currently leads all active drivers with the most road course wins (six).
SEVEN TIMES THE FUN: Hendrick Motorsports’ 22 road course victories have come at the hands of seven different drivers, the most of any team in Cup Series history. Jeff Gordon (nine), Elliott (six), Tim Richmond (three), Geoff Bodine (one), Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, and Ricky Rudd all have brought home victories from the twisting venues.
NOT DONE YET: Through the first 19 races in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports already has nine wins, the second-most victories at this point in the year in organization history. The four teammates now will try to earn double-digit wins for the first time since 2014 when the organization took home 13 total wins. That season, Hendrick Motorsports drivers Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson each had four wins and Kasey Kahne had one.
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: Hendrick Motorsports’ pit crews are performing at the top of their game, with three teams currently holding the fastest average four-tire pit stop times. The No. 5 team leads the Cup Series field with an average pit stop time of 13.61 seconds, followed by the No. 9 team with an average time of 13.70 seconds. The No. 48 team clocks in third with an average four-tire pit stop time of 13.71 seconds. The No. 24 crew rounds out the Hendrick Motorsports stable with an average time of 14.0 seconds.
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on what he thinks of Road America: “I’ve raced there before in an Xfinity car in 2013. I remember it was a really fun racetrack – a really long racetrack. I’m definitely excited to get back there this weekend because it’s a really cool place. Whether on the simulator or iRacing, it’s good to get visuals of elevation changes ahead of time.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his previous Road America experience: “Kyle has raced there before and I did in Xfinity, as well, but there’s not much you can pull from those past experiences. It’s been such a long time, so we’re trying to take a fresh look at understanding the race. We’ll go back and watch some Xfinity races from the past couple of years to try to get a feel for what is important there, what do we need to attack and what we need to tune.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to Road America: “I’ve raced up at Road America a couple times in the Xfinity Series and I always really enjoyed going there. It’s a cool racetrack. There are a lot of race fans up there – a lot of people that enjoyed having us racing there. I’ve always felt very welcome and I don’t anticipate this weekend being any different. I am looking forward to getting back up there.”
Elliott on if preparations at Hendrick Motorsports have changed with the success this season: “I don’t think our prep has changed, but it’s a good thing, right? We would much rather be on this side of the fence than the other. I don’t really feel like any of us that are involved are any different people, or any better people or worse than we were last year or the year before. Those of us that have been around for a few years. Obviously, the car has changed, but how we prepare for races, how I prepare for races – you are either prepared for a race or you’re not at the end of the day. You either have the knowledge and understand what you’re looking for or you don’t. I haven’t really changed that approach since my rookie year and I feel like when things are going good and we are clicking and things are working well we can perform at a high level. I don’t see any need in us changing what we do too much.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to Road America: “I’m excited for this road course. I finished sixth there in the Xfinity Series in 2017. I had a good run and felt like it was one of my best road course races in that series overall. I expect more of the same this weekend in the Cup car. You just want to make sure that the car turns well and that you’re good in the braking zones. For us as a team, I think we will start off getting back to the basics of road course racing. We’ve had some bad luck recently but normally we’re really good at this style of racing. I’m excited that it’s another new track for the series and I think it will race really well for our cars.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to road course racing: “Honestly, this weekend we’re looking to set the reset button on our road course racing program for the No. 24 team. After Sonoma and how things ended and some misfortune at the DAYTONA Road Course, we really want to get back to the speed and execution we had at COTA. Even with suffering damage there, we were able to make it back through the field and on a strategy that set us up well for the end before the weather picked up. William feels like road course racing has become one of his strengths over the last couple years and we want to keep him confident in that. So, the plan is to have a nice, basic weekend of executing like we need to and having a solid plan should any misfortune arise. We know what we’re capable of – it’s just a matter of maximizing where we can and there’s potential for that this weekend.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the 2021 success at Hendrick Motorsports: “The morale is obviously super high at Hendrick Motorsports. It’s really cool to see it that way. I think there’s not one thing. It’s each and every individual at Hendrick Motorsports from top to bottom in every department; it’s everybody at Chevrolet. Our engines are strong, bodies are great, chassis are great. The guys putting them together are doing a great job. Having Chad (Knaus) in a new role is really good. Mr. (Rick) Hendrick and Jeff (Andrews) and everybody are giving us all the tools we need to put the parts and pieces together to go win races. It’s not one thing. It’s a culmination of everybody’s hard work. It’s cool to be a part of it and be the guy that gets to drive them.”
Bowman on returning to Road America: “I am excited to get to Road America this weekend. I raced there in the Xfinity Series back in 2013, so getting back there is going to be a lot of fun. It is a long racetrack and really long lap times, but it is a fun place and really technical.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the team’s experience at Pocono last weekend: “It was definitely odd to win and then have to get ready to race again the next day. I’m very thankful that we were able to have a good car again on Sunday and able to come home seventh. Saturday kind of was going as planned. Obviously, we knew that the No. 5 car had four tires and we had two tires. You never want to see your teammate have an issue like that but we were in the position we needed to be in, and it just worked out. On the last lap, we were talking about what we needed for Sunday’s race to be better. When we crossed the line first, it was a roller coaster of emotion and a surprised celebration for me on the box.”
Ives on his experience at Road America: “It is definitely an advantage having track time at a place like Road America. The hardest part is probably only remembering the corners that were most prevalent. Hendrick has great cars right now and the power has been strong from the Hendrick engine shop, so I know that we can get another good finish this weekend.”
