Bristol Motor Speedwa
Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021
.533-Mile Oval
7:30 PM ET
Location: Bristol, Tennessee
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (29 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 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
ANOTHER ROUND: On Saturday night at Richmond Raceway, Kyle Larson punched his ticket to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Round of 12. The 29-year-old driver secured a spot in the next round following fourth-place finishes in the first two stages. Larson finished sixth in the 400-lap race – his 20th top-10 result of 2021.
CONCRETE NUMBERS: In 12 starts on the concrete Bristol Motor Speedway, Larson has two top-five finishes – a pair of runner-up finishes in 2018 – and seven top-10s. The driver of the No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has led 200 or more laps on two occasions at the Tennessee venue.
PLAYOFF POINTS: Larson has accumulated 53 playoff points this season through five race wins (five points per win), 13 stage victories (one point per stage win) and by winning the NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season championship (15 points). The drivers ranked second and third in playoff points combined have 53 points.
HIGH FIVE: Through 28 of 36 Cup Series races, Larson leads the series in wins (career-best five), top-10s (tied career-best 20), stage wins (13), average start (6.9) and laps led (career-best 1,730). His 15 top-five finishes are tied for the most and match his career-best during a season.
FAST TIME: At 13.68 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).
I SAW RED: Valvoline will make its third of three appearances as the primary sponsor of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV) is a leading worldwide marketer and supplier of premium branded lubricants and automotive services, with sales in more than 140 countries. Established in 1866, the company’s heritage spans more than 150 years, during which time it has developed powerful brand recognition across multiple product and service channels. Valvoline ranks as the No. 3 passenger car motor oil brand in the DIY market by volume. To learn more, visit www.valvoline.com.
NOW THE RACE IS ON: In March, Larson announced the launch of the Kyle Larson Foundation, which was established to better serve today’s youth, families and communities in need through hands-on support. The Sanneh Foundation and the Urban Youth Racing School are the primary beneficiaries of the foundation, which also works closely with Hendrick Cares, the corporate social responsibility program of Hendrick Automotive Group. To kickstart the “Drive for 5” program, Larson pledged a personal donation of $5 for every NASCAR Cup Series lap he completes this season and will contribute another $5,000 for every top-five finish he earns. Through 28 races, he has already pledged more than $105,000 and raised nearly $175,000. To learn more, please visit KyleLarsonFoundation.org. Valvoline, the primary sponsor of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend, will also contribute $5 for each lap Larson completes at Bristol on Saturday along with $5,000 if Larson scores a top-five finish.
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 7th
No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
EIGHT TO GO: The NASCAR Cup Series is just eight races shy of the conclusion of the 2021 season. Heading into the final race of the Round of 16, Chase Elliott sits seventh in the playoff standings, 19 points above the cutline. So far this season, Elliott has garnered two wins, 12 top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and led a total of 395 laps.
CUTOFF RACE CONQUERER: The Cup Series is heading to the first cutoff race in the playoffs and Elliott has proven to excel with a little extra pressure. He and the No. 9 team have won the last three playoff elimination races (2020 – the Charlotte ROVAL, Martinsville Speedway, Phoenix Raceway).
WELCOME BACK, HOOTERS: This weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hooters will make its final 2021 appearance on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE with the Night Owl paint scheme. A casual dining establishment with a deep history in NASCAR, the Atlanta-based company has been a three-race primary sponsor of the No. 9 team this year. Elliott also piloted the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet in May at Darlington Raceway and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in August.
NIGHT OWL: As Elliott’s Hooters Night Owl paint scheme returns to the track on Saturday, Elliott has also proven to be quite the night owl himself. In the last 16 night races, he holds a 9.69 average finishing position, the third-highest of drivers who have competed in all 16 of those events.
SHORT-TRACK STATS: On Saturday night at Bristol, Elliott will make his 36th short-track start in the Cup Series. In those previous 35 races, he has collected one win, 12 top-five finishes, including three runner-up results, 18 top-10s and led 833 laps. In the eight short-track races, Elliott has earned more points (337) than any other driver.
‘THUNDER VALLEY’ STATS: This weekend, Elliott will make his 11th NCS start on the concrete configuration at Bristol. In his 10 previous events held on the .533-mile oval, the driver of the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet secured three top-five finishes, five top-10s and led 310 laps – the most laps led for Elliott at a track where he has not won. In addition, Elliott also led 60 laps en route to winning the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race held at Bristol in July 2020. The 25-year-old driver also holds the longest active streak for races led at Bristol (five) and has won three of the last six stages at the track.
2021 SHORT TRACKS: The Cup Series has competed four times short tracks in 2021: the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race, Martinsville Speedway and twice at Richmond Raceway. Elliott has top-10 results at three of the events – a second-place finish at Martinsville, 10th-place performance at Bristol and fourth-place result at last week’s playoff race at Richmond.
GUSTAFSON AT BRISTOL: On Saturday, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson is set to call his 32nd Cup Series race at Bristol. In his previous 31 starts at the track with five different drivers (Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Elliott), Gustafson has accumulated one points-paying win, nine top-five finishes – including two runner-up results – 16 top-10s and 910 laps led. He also was victorious last season in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race with Elliott.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 23 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 15th
No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
IT’S BRISTOL BABY: With Saturday night’s race marking the final race of the Round of 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, William Byron is currently sitting below the cutline, in 15th place. Needing to be in the top 12 in points to advance on, this is not a must-win situation for Byron who is just 18 points below the line. With a solid night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native can still earn enough points to move on, while a win would automatically lock him into the Round of 12.
BEST YEAR YET: With only eight races left in the 2021 Cup Series season, Byron is continuing to have a career-best season 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 the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – most by a driver this season), nine top-five finishes and 16 top-10s (tied for the third-most by a driver this season) all while leading 276 laps and collecting three stage wins. In his Cup career, these are the most top-five finishes, top-10s, laps led, and stage wins the 23-year-old driver has collected in a single season.
BATTLE AT BRISTOL: This weekend, Byron will make his seventh Cup Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway. He has a best qualifying effort of second at “The Last Great Colosseum,” lining up alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in April 2019. In his six starts at Bristol, Bryon has a track-best finish of eighth which came last year in the spring race. In the last night race in September 2020, Byron found himself running inside the top 10 before being collected in an on-track incident, ending his night early.
THE FUGLE FILES: While the Cup Series traveled to Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this year for the dirt event, Saturday night’s race will mark Rudy Fugle’s first on pavement as a Cup Series crew chief at “The Last Great Colosseum.” In seven NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, Fugle has one win at the half-mile track coming in the spring of 2013 with Kyle Busch. In total, his drivers have collected three top-five finishes, along with six top-10s. In fact, Fugle only has one finish worse than ninth across his seven starts at Bristol.
ALL ABOUT AXALTA: For the final race of the Round of 16, Byron will climb behind the wheel of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor 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: 13th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
ROUND OF 16 FINALE: Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway will mark the final race of the Round of 16 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Alex Bowman currently sits 13th in the standings, with the top-12 drivers advancing on in the playoffs at the conclusion of Saturday’s event. Since the playoffs began in Darlington, the No. 48 Ally team has had a 26th-place result at the South Carolina based track and a 12th-place finish at Richmond Raceway. During these two events, Bowman has collectively captured 38 points.
BOWMAN AT BRISTOL: Bowman has 10 Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway with two top-10 results. His best performance at the half-mile Tennessee venue came in 2018 when he brought home a fifth-place finish after 500 laps in the spring race. Earlier this season, the series visited the track for the first NCS event on dirt where Bowman finished 22nd after rolling off seventh. In 2013, he made two starts at the facility in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, capturing one top-15 finish.
SHORT-TRACK STATS: The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has made 32 paved short-track starts in his seven-year Cup Series career. Bowman has one win (Richmond), two top-five finishes and seven top-10s on these tracks. He has collected the ninth-most points (238) at short tracks in the last eight short-track events since the start of 2020.
TENNESSEE NUMBERS: Greg Ives will call his 13th Cup Series race at Bristol on Saturday night under the lights. In 12 previous events at the half-mile track, the crew chief has two top-five finishes and four top-10s with a best finish of second in 2016 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. In 2013 and 2014, Ives was a crew chief in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports where his drivers led 59 laps and claimed one top-five finish and three top-10s in four races at Bristol. As an engineer for driver Jimmie Johnson from 2006-2012, he was part of one win, two pole awards and eight top-10 finishes at the venue.
ON BOARD WITH BOWMAN: During Saturday night’s race at the Tennessee-based track, fans can see how Bowman views the track by watching his in-car camera. The No. 48 Chevrolet will be carrying the Xfinity on-board camera, allowing fans to have a 360-degree view over the shoulder of Bowman for 500 laps.
PIT ROAD STATS: Going into this weekend’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway, the No. 48 pit crew sits fifth on the board for the fastest four-tire pit stop average in the Cup Series with a time of 13.89 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).
CLEAR THE SHELTERS: The “Clear the Shelters” nationwide campaign is underway and will conclude on Saturday, Sept. 18 with a nationwide adoption event. The NBC/Telemundo initiative rolled out at the end of August and WCNC, the local Charlotte, North Carolina, NBC station, teamed up with Bowman and No. 48 team partner Ally for the 2021 campaign to get as many pets adopted from local shelters. This Saturday, all adoption fees will either be waived or discounted with the goal to clear out the 10 shelters that are participating in the Charlotte area. Learn more about the amazing cause and adoption event here.
ELIMINATION SITUATION: Entering the final event of the opening round of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has won eight of the 28 elimination races held since 2014, including three in 2020: the Charlotte ROVAL, Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. The team has won at least one elimination race in each of the last three seasons.
BMS SUCCESS: Eleven of Hendrick Motorsports’ 52 NASCAR Cup Series short-track wins (best of active teams) have come at Bristol, where it has secured 12 pole positions and led more than 6,000 laps. The organization holds the BMS track records for top-five finishes (60) and top-10s (109). A record six different drivers have won there for team owner Rick Hendrick.
SWEET 16: Hendrick Motorsports has gone to victory lane in eight of the last 16 Cup Series races (50%). No other organization has won more than three times in that span.
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on atmosphere for Bristol night race: “Bristol is cool all the time, but the night race, to me, has a little bit more meaning than the spring race because of the atmosphere around it. The lights, the crowd, the energy is just up for the night race. It makes me excited, and it makes me want to win there even more.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the mindset being locked into next round of playoffs: “Our goal is to go to Bristol and win, of course, especially since we are locked into the next round. But being locked in really doesn’t change our mindset – we just need to execute a good race. It allows us the opportunity to go after stage wins and the race win possibly with a different strategy, but I don’t know what a crazy ‘Hail Mary’ would look like at Bristol, so I don’t think we would do that.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on returning to Bristol’s concrete configuration: “It’s a little different, for sure. It seems like (Bristol) did a really good job of how they put the dirt down and took it back up to where the track surface doesn’t really look any different. I anticipate everybody will adapt pretty quickly. The Bristol night race is always one of my favorite races of the year. It’s a great environment. To me, it’s one of the coolest events on our schedule. It will be an exciting weekend. I am glad it’s in the playoffs and we get to go up there and enjoy a Saturday night in eastern Tennessee.”
Elliott on Bristol being a cutoff race: “A cutoff race at Bristol is perfect. It’s a great event. Like I said, it’s one of my favorite races of the year and, honestly, I feel like it is one of the most exciting events of the year. It’s one that has been that way for a long time on our schedule. I think that’s a great place for a cutoff, and I am glad it’s in the playoffs.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the high-pressure playoff format: “It’s tough; that’s one of the hardest things about it. It’s a long time; just under a third of the season. A lot can happen, and you can have the best-laid plans and something happens that puts you in a tough spot. You just have to maximize your opportunities and your moments to try to get ahead. When it gets really tough is when you have a bad week to start a round, then you’re behind. You’re trying to reach and make too much happen. (We’re) just trying to stay ahead, execute, maximize points and keep ourselves on the front side of it. That takes a lot of the pressure off.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on heading to Bristol under the playoff cutline: “Obviously, we’re not in an ideal situation heading to Bristol but we’re by no means out of it. Just because we’re below the cutline doesn’t mean we need to try anything crazy, either. That’s when people put themselves in bad situations, I feel like. We just need to go to Bristol and execute on all levels as a team. We know we have the speed in our cars to run well at Bristol; we just need to focus on running our race. We’ll be aware of what’s going on around us, but we can only control our race and that’s what we’re going to focus on. We need to maximize our points and be around at the end of the night to capitalize.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the strategy going to Bristol: “Every week we try to go win and this race is no different. We put in the same amount of effort every week. There are always going to be some tracks that you have a better chance at winning at than others, but we feel like Bristol is one of those that is high up on our list. We think we can go in there, reach the top five hopefully by the end of stage one and continue to race in the top five all night long before seeing what happens at the end of it. There’s probably a couple scenarios where if we get a lot of stage points and a few people have issues – which statistically happens at the Bristol night race – that we could point our way in with a top-five night. But there’s no easier way to lock in than to win and there’s no better place to do it than the Bristol night race. We want to end the night driving up into victory lane and celebrating.”
Fugle on how easily things can change throughout a race: “No one knows better than us that anything can happen in a race, especially something out of your control. We had that happen at Darlington when a lug nut got wedged down in the wheel and broke a valve stem, ending our night early. These races – you can lose them faster than you can win them. All we can do is get those stage points early on and put more pressure on those guys in front of us. They may think they’re in a safe situation and can run 10th all night, but if we can put pressure on them to step it up, that’s when mistakes happen and we can be there to capitalize.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on how the team is strategizing for Bristol: “I think we need to maximize stage points and hopefully that has us in a good spot at the end of the day. I don’t think we are in a must-win situation by any means, but when you are racing Kurt (Busch) and Kyle (Busch) and guys who are so good at Bristol, it is going to be tough. We are going to go do everything we can to win the race. I don’t think we are going to put ourselves in a situation where we either win or run 30th. We are just going to go maximize the day and do the best we can.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on preparing for the cutoff race at Bristol: “I have been in playoff situations plenty of times to know … you take all of your pennies out and figure out how many points you have. You divide them all up and if you do this and add that and you get this many stage points and finish here, you end up transferring on. Honestly, my thought is that if you go out there and execute, have good pit stops, don’t have any loose wheels, vibrations, great restarts, and keep your car clean, you are probably going to transfer on. That’s our goal and I haven’t been quiet about it either, it all comes down to executing the races and finishing where we should.”
Ives on the No. 48 team’s history at Bristol: “I would say we have performed decent there – capable of top-10s. We haven’t been in the situation where I felt like we could win the race. Alex talks about it a lot, we kind of just focus on trying to get his driving style to match up with the setup I have underneath the car and being able to repeat that. Last time there, we were running between third and seventh most of the day and we had a left-rear tire come unbalanced. We had to pit, went two laps down and never got it back. That’s kind of what I am talking about, is whether we have a top-three car or a top-10 car, it doesn’t matter if you run into issues that you can’t overcome. Adversity is all about overcoming it and Bristol is definitely going to have plenty of opportunities to try and overcome.”
