Michigan International Speedway
Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021
2-Mile Oval
3:00 PM ET
Location: Brooklyn, Michigan
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (25 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN
5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 29 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 1st
No. 5 Cincinnati Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
ALMOST ANOTHER WON: Last Sunday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Kyle Larson was leading by more than four seconds when a caution waved with eight laps to go in the race scheduled for 82 laps. After stopping for new tires, the driver of the No. 5 entry restarted fifth and battled through two red-flag periods and 13 extra laps to finish third in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series event on the serpentine layout.
BY THE DOZEN: In 12 starts at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway, Larson has three wins, five top-five finishes, six top-10s and has led 150 laps. His three wins occurred consecutively from August 2016 through August 2017. The circuit located in the Irish Hills of Michigan is the only Cup Series track where Larson has scored multiple victories.
PENULTIMATE REGULAR-SEASON RACE: Following the 26th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, playoff points will be awarded to the top 10 drivers in the standings with 15 markers awarded to first place, 10 to second, eight to third, seven to fourth, and so on. Larson is currently atop the standings by 22 markers with two races remaining in the regular season.
FIVE-STAR: Through 24 of 36 Cup Series races, Larson leads the series in wins (career-best five), top-five finishes (13), top-10s (17), stage wins (12), playoff points (37), and laps led (career-best 1,496). In fact, he has paced the field 692 more times than any competitor this season and his stage wins are the most by seven.
FIVE FOR FIVE: The driver of the No. 5 Cincinnati Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has a series-high five victories in 2021. Larson has visited victory lane at Watkins Glen International, Nashville Superspeedway, Sonoma Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway this year. In June, he scored a $1 million payday in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway.
NATIONALS WINNER: On Saturday night, Larson won the 60th Knoxville Nationals at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. The Elk Grove, California, native held off hard-charging 10-time Knoxville Nationals champion Donny Schatz to secure his first ever win in the prestigious dirt track event. HendrickCars.com appeared on the No. 57 entry and on Larson’s uniform, gloves and helmet.
SOME MORE DIRT: On Wednesday and Thursday, Larson is scheduled to participate in the BC39 USAC National Midget National Championship race on The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
QUICK TIME!: At 13.71 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).
THE FIRST OF TWO: This Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway marks the first of two races Cincinnati Incorporated (CI) will appear as the primary sponsor on the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Cincinnati is a U.S.-based manufacturer of metal fabrication machinery and has shipped close to 60,000 machines in its 120 years of operation. On its 80-acre campus in Harrison, Ohio, sits a 500,000-square-foot plant, which manufactures CNC laser cutters, press brakes, shears, automation, powder metal presses, and additive manufacturing equipment. Learn more at www.e-ci.com or engage on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. To see Larson’s paint scheme for this weekend, click here.
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 5th
No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
SEASON SUMMARY: With only two races remaining in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Chase Elliott’s two wins and 14 top-10 finishes are tied for career bests for him through 24 races in a year. His five runner-up finishes, 11 top-fives and 11.3 average finishing position also are career bests for him through this period. Elliott has spent 1,909 laps inside the top five and 3,467 laps running in the top 10.
MICHIGAN STATS: Elliott currently holds the best all-time average finish (7.7) of drivers with more than two starts at Michigan. He has placed inside the top 10 in nine of his 10 career Cup Series starts at the 2-mile oval. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has also collected three top-five finishes at Michigan, all of which were runner-up results. His nine top-10 finishes at the 2-mile venue are more than his total top-10s at any other track.
RUNNER-UP FINISHERS: Elliott is in good company as one of five drivers with the most runner-up finishes at Michigan before their first win at the track. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon also earned three second-place results before capturing his first win at the Irish Hills oval (1998), and Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte have three runner-up results without a win at Michigan.
GUSTAFSON AT MICHIGAN: In his 17th season as a crew chief, Alan Gustafson is set to call his 33rd race from atop the pit box on Sunday at Michigan. In his previous 32 starts at the venue with five different drivers (Elliott, Gordon, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Casey Mears), Gustafson has collected two wins with Martin in June 2009 and Gordon in August 2014 when he started from the pole position. Gordon’s pole-winning lap is the fastest-ever qualifying speed that did not occur at a superspeedway. The No. 9 team crew chief has garnered five top-five finishes, 16 top-10s and 302 laps led at the track.
NAPA KNOW HOW: This weekend at Michigan, the NAPA AUTO PARTS blue, white and yellow Chevrolet will return to the track. The Atlanta-based company is serving as majority sponsor for the driver and the No. 9 team for a total of 25 Cup Series races this year.
‘DESI9N TO DRIVE’: On Wednesday, Elliott announced the return of his foundation’s “DESI9N TO DRIVE” shoe program for the fifth consecutive year. In addition to teaming up with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s) this year, the Chase Elliott Foundation has joined forces with NAPA AUTO PARTS to expand the program to include a patient-designed car, uniform, gloves, helmet and more for the upcoming race at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 5. With September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the designs were submitted by eight patients, ranging in age from 6 to 15 years old, from the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s. The designed items (excluding the race car), will be autographed and auctioned off via the NASCAR Foundation beginning Sept. 2 and closing on Sept. 8.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 23 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 4th
No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
BEST YEAR YET: After 24 races in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron is continuing to have a career-best year at the highest level of competition in the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. So far, Byron has collected one win (Homestead-Miami Speedway), two pole awards (Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – most by a driver this season), eight top-five finishes and 15 top-10s (tied for the fourth-most by a driver this season) all while leading 246 laps and collecting three stage wins. In his Cup career, this is the most top-five finishes, top-10s, laps led, and stage wins the 23-year-old driver has collected in a single season.
TWO MORE CHANCES: With only two more races until the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin, Byron has two more chances to add to his already impressive stats for the regular season. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has spent 4,138 laps running in the top 10 – second-most in the series – and 2,246 laps in the top five – third-most throughout the field. Byron holds the third-best average running position in the Cup Series of 8.94 and an average finishing position of 12.54, placing him in the fourth position in the driver points standings and solidifying his spot in this year’s playoffs.
MICHIGAN MINUTES: With eight NASCAR national series starts at Michigan International Speedway under his belt, Byron will be adding one more to his résumé this Sunday. Of those eight races, six came at the Cup level where he has a track-best starting position of third and a track-best finish of eighth – both in August 2019. Byron also has one NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the 2-mile D-shaped oval, where he qualified fourth and ended the race in the runner-up position. Byron has one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start, as well. He started third and finished fourth with crew chief Rudy Fugle on top of the box.
OH SO CLOSE: While Sunday will mark Fugle’s first Cup Series event at Michigan International Speedway, the Livonia, New York, native is very familiar with the 2-mile track. With seven starts at the D-shaped oval, all coming in the Camping World Truck Series, Fugle has six top-five finishes and six top-10s. He has finished second on three occasions, third once, and placed fourth two times, with his only finish outside of the top four coming in 2019 with a 15th-place result. In fact, Fugle’s drivers have an average starting position of 5.4 and an average finishing position of 4.6 at MIS. This weekend he hopes to continue his success by capturing his first checkered flag at the Michigan venue.
ALL ABOUT AXALTA: On a stretch of three races since the Cup Series returned from the two-week break, Byron will once again climb behind the wheel of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, this time for Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway. Now in its 29th year of partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta will return as primary partner on Byron’s No. 24 for 14 races in 2021. For a better look at Byron’s No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, click here.
48 Alex Bowman
Age: 28 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 12th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
TWO TO GO IN REGULAR SEASON: With two races to go before the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs get underway, Alex Bowman already has three wins (Richmond Raceway, Dover International Speedway and Pocono Raceway), six top-five finishes and 12 top-10s, which are tied for the eighth-most top-10 results this year among active drivers. Bowman has won two of the last seven oval events and has six top-10 results in that span. Bowman’s six top-five finishes are tied for the ninth-most this season among active drivers. The 28-year-old driver has the 11th-best average running position (12.68) and finishing position (14.33) this season. He has run 1,354 laps inside the top five and 2,698 laps inside the top 10, which ranks 11th overall this season. Bowman sits fifth in the NCS playoff standings with two races to go before the first playoff event at Darlington.
HOME TURF: Michigan International Speedway is what the full-season primary sponsor of Bowman and the No. 48 team consider to be its home track. Ally Financial is based in Detroit, roughly 78 miles east of the venue. Ally Detroit Center, formerly One Detroit Center, is a skyscraper located in the downtown area overlooking the Detroit Financial District. The 43-story tower is the tallest office building in the city and the second-tallest building in the state.
MICHIGAN PERFORMANCE: Bowman will be making his 12th start in the NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway this weekend. Bowman’s best qualifying effort of fourth came in the fall of 2019. The Tucson, Arizona, native has four starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the 2-mile oval. Bowman has one pole (2016), one top-five finish and three top-15s at the track in the series. In 2015, Bowman made one start at the Michigan-based facility in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and finished 11th after 100 laps. The driver of the No. 48 also made one start in the ARCA Menards Series at Michigan in 2012, starting third and leading 12 laps to finish second.
IVES HEADS HOME: Crew chief Greg Ives will make his 13th Cup Series start this weekend at his home track of Michigan International Speedway. In his 12 previous starts calling the shots, he has one top-five finish and four top-10s. Ives’ best finish of second came in 2015 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel. In 2013, Ives was a crew chief at JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series and captured the victory in the spring event with driver Regan Smith. Ives’ drivers have led 20 laps in the series at the 2-mile track and have an average finish of 3.5. Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 team between 2006 and 2012 with Jimmie Johnson behind the wheel. During that time, the team captured six top-10 finishes and started from the second position on three occasions.
CHEVY STAGE: The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet will visit the Team Chevy stage on Sunday, Aug. 22 at 11:55 a.m. ET for a question-and-answer session with fans. Follow @TeamChevy on Twitter for your chance to submit a question for Bowman to answer during his appearance
HOMETOWN TRACK: Three members of the No. 48 team have ties to the state of Michigan. Ives grew up in Bark River, Michigan, which is approximately 443 miles from the Michigan track. The No. 48 crew chief received his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Michigan Technological University. Hauler driver Andy “Squiggs” Quillan grew up in Belding, which is approximately two hours from Michigan International Speedway. Quillan grew up a NASCAR fan and attended his first race at his home track in 2001. Front-tire changer Scott Brzozowski hails from Sterling Heights, which is just outside of Ally’s home base of Detroit. Brzozowski started out as a member of the No. 24 over-the-wall crew before transferring to the No. 88 team in 2015 and then moving with the group to the No. 48 this season.
PIT ROAD STATS: Following last weekend’s event at Indianapolis, the No. 48 pit crew continues to sit fifth on the chart for the fastest four-tire pit stop average in the NASCAR Cup Series with a time of 13.92 seconds. The team had the fastest single stop at Dover International Speedway (12.18 seconds) on May 16 and had the third-fastest stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway (12.25 seconds) on July 11. 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).
MITTEN FITTIN’: Hendrick Motorsports has won eight NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway and holds the track records for pole positions (11), top-10 finishes (105) and laps led (2,502). Five different drivers have gone to victory lane there for car owner Rick Hendrick: Jeff Gordon (three Cup Series wins), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Ricky Rudd.
AT THE FRONT: Hendrick Motorsports has led 2,126 laps in 2021 – the most of any team. The organization has led 355 more laps than next-best Joe Gibbs Racing and 548 more than the third- through eighth-ranked teams combined. Team Penske has led 971 laps, followed by Chip Ganassi Racing (217), Stewart-Haas Racing (176), Roush Fenway Racing (79), Trackhouse (74) and Wood Brothers Racing (61).
STURDY DOZEN: Over the last 12 NASCAR Cup Series points races, Hendrick Motorsports has won eight times, scored six runner-up results (the most), finished 1-2 on five occasions (most), won 10 of 25 stages (most), and led 1,378 of 2,316 laps raced (59%). With 48 total entries across the most recent 12 events, the team has scored 23 top-five finishes (most) and 31 top-10s (most).
24 AND LOOKING FOR MORE: After 24 of 36 points-paying races in 2021, the four-car Hendrick Motorsports stable has won 11 times, which is tied for its most ever at this time of the year. Its 16 stage wins are tied for the most in history by any organization going into the 25th points race. Hendrick Motorsports has its most top-five finishes (38) and posted its fourth-most laps led (2,126) at the 24-event mark. The team’s 58 top-10s in 2021 represent the second-most by an organization ever at this point in a season.
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his strategy for Michigan: “It’s a totally different package; areo, engine, all that compared to when I used to win there but Hendrick Motorsports has been strong there and we have been good on all the bigger ovals this year. The draft plays a big role there, so you have to be really patient when you are making moves. As long as we keep executing and being smart like we have been doing all year long, we should have ourselves in position to challenge for another win.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on challenges of Michigan being only race on 2-mile track this season: “Massive challenges. Michigan is a tough place to know where to set the trim of your car for drag and downforce. A lot of the mile-and-a-half’s are more similar in that regard. At Michigan, you really have to have speed in your car. Of course, you have to have the right amount of handling to get through the corners, but the straightaways are long and the track is smooth. If you have handling on your side – which hopefully we do – then you must be able to go fast in a straight line.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on making a playoff run this season: “We just have to peak at the right time. That was really what we did best last year. We just really peaked at the right time and kind of got hot for a stretch of races. It was perfect timing. Unfortunately, you can’t always draw that up. That’s not just something you can snap your fingers and make happen. It’s a lot of hard work, it’s a lot of effort and it comes from everyone at Hendrick Motorsports, everyone on the road, myself, our off-track help. Everything has to really be clicking at the right time. Our playoffs are 10 weeks, which is a long time. Just that stretch of races, it’s tough to be at your peak for 10 weeks. We just hope we can peak at the right time again, that’s key. We want to perform when it matters most.”
Elliott on this year’s ‘DESI9N TO DRIVE’ program: “With September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the Chase Elliott Foundation, NAPA AUTO PARTS and Hendrick Motorsports have decided to give the No. 9 Chevrolet an entirely new look for the Darlington race. To me, the main player is obviously NAPA and how they are allowing Children’s to be a part of it. To take ‘DESI9N TO DRIVE’, an event that was just shoe designs, and turn it into being on the car, on the suit, on the helmet. I think all of that is extremely special, so I am grateful for NAPA being open, willing and excited about it enough to partner up and make it happen.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the high speeds at Michigan: “I think with the 550 horsepower package we run, the mid-corner section of the track feels more high speed than anything. Even though we’re going slower down the straightaways than we were a couple years ago, I feel like the mid-corner now feels almost sketchy. It’s fully on edge and you’re close to always chattering the tires. It’s a fast track that makes you feel like you’re always running on a fine line. It’s just a different sensation of speed with this package.”
Byron on the importance of winning in Michigan: “Michigan is such an important racetrack, not only for teams but for manufacturers – Chevrolet, most importantly. It’s a fun race that’s all about bragging rights for them on who had the most power, the most downforce, and things like that. I feel like we are heading into this race with a really good shot to get it done for Chevy. We have really fast cars on the 1.5-mile and 2-mile tracks. So, I’m excited to see how things play out for us and hopefully we can be the ones to give the bragging rights to Chevy at the end of the day.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the final races before the playoffs: “Since the two-week break, we wanted to make sure we came back with high intensity. We obviously bring it every week, but we wanted to ensure that everyone understands that we want to treat this like a 14-week playoff. With the last two races we ran and the next two coming up, we want to make sure that we are executing at the highest level possible. It’s about the cars you bring to the track, the execution level and going through every detail. That is what we’re trying to hit on to make sure we are ready to go for the playoffs. We don’t want to wait until the playoffs start to be like, ‘Okay, it’s time to step it up.’ It’s a fight every week, so we’re trying to make sure that we’re bringing it at all times.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on racing at Michigan: “I’m definitely excited to go to Michigan. Last year we were fast, so this year I think we know our program for that style racetrack is really strong and I think we could be really good. Excited to go there and hopefully contend for a win. It’s really cool to go to Ally’s backyard, Chevrolet’s backyard and really everyone’s backyards. Everyone has a little bit of added pressure to try to win there, and hopefully we can get it done.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to his home track: “I am really looking forward to getting to Michigan. Obviously, it’s my home state and one of the first tracks that I went to as a fan in the stands. That gave me the passion for wanting to do this every day. We are looking to continue our great runs on 550 tracks this weekend. With Ally’s presence there and Chevrolet’s, having success at Michigan is super important for us on Sunday.”
Ives on finishing the regular season with strong results: “There is never a bad time to have three wins in the hopper. The big thing is that you want to cap off these races at Michigan and Daytona with momentum. After Watkins Glen we were down a little bit, but I think we are getting back to where we need to be. We need that momentum to go into the start of the playoffs. That is our focus right now. We don’t want to plan too far ahead of us because you have to take each race and keep building on it.”
