5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 31 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 2nd
No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
SETTING THE STAGE: On Sunday at Iowa Speedway, Kyle Larson won stage two to extend his series-leading stage victories in 2024 to eight. The Elk Grove, California, native has accrued 23 NASCAR Cup playoff points – five more than his nearest competitor – and sits second in the regular season standings, eight markers behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott.
OUT FRONT: With nine races to go in the regular season, Larson has led 755 laps, which is 148 more than anyone else. The 2021 Cup champion and driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 also leads the series in pole positions (four) while being tied for most wins (three) and top-five finishes (seven).
SO CLOSE TO MAGIC: This weekend the Cup Series will visit New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Larson has collected five top-five finishes and seven top-10s in 13 starts. His three runner-up results at “The Magic Mile” are the most by a driver without a win at the New England venue.
IN GOOD COMPANY: In just his fourth year driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has already accumulated 20 points-paying wins, which rank him third in team history. He trails only NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (93) and Jimmie Johnson (83) in victories for the organization, which has won Cup races with a record 20 different drivers. Larson has won 16% of his Hendrick Motorsports starts.
THIS DECADE: Larson’s 20 point-paying wins since 2021 are also the most of any driver at NASCAR’s top level. During his 2021 championship season, he visited victory lane 10 times, then collected three victories in 2022, four in 2023 and three so far this season.
FOUR TIRES FAST: The No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM pit crew holds the seventh-fastest average four-tire pit stop time in 2024 at 10.962 seconds. Larson’s crew consists of Blaine Anderson (front-tire changer), R.J. Barnette (tire carrier), Brandon Harder (fueler), Brandon Johnson (jackman) and Calvin Teague (rear-tire changer).
AWAY BUT ALWAYS AVAILABLE: In 2024, the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team recognizes “home” events by wearing white firesuits and “away” with blue. Its home races come at tracks with nearby Hendrick Automotive Group car dealerships. This weekend, the team races away in Loudon, New Hampshire. However, it’s easy to pick up a new set of keys from any one of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealerships nationwide. Customers can shop from the convenience of their home selecting 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.
HENDRICK AUTOMOTIVE GROUP IS HIRING: Join 10,000+ others nationwide in working at Hendrick Automotive Group. The company is hiring technicians and other positions at its dealerships throughout the country. Positions are open for all skill levels and offer tuition and training reimbursement. Individuals who are interested can apply at HENDRICKCARS.COM.
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 28 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 1st
No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
TO THE POINT: With his third-place finish at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, Chase Elliott took over the NASCAR Cup Series regular season points lead for the first time in 2024. The last time he led the pre-playoffs standings was in 2022 when he went on to capture the regular season championship. Elliott is the third Hendrick Motorsports driver to sit atop the Cup Series this year, joining teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron. Currently, he is ahead of second-place Larson by eight points.
STELLAR SEASON: Elliott, the six-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver, leads all drivers with a 9.12 average finish through 17 races, the best of his Cup career. He has also finished inside the top 20 in all 17 events, the first driver to do so since Jeff Burton in 2008. In 2024, the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has completed all but one lap of competition, the best mark since 2016 when Kurt Busch finished every lap of the first 17 races. Elliott’s only blemish came in March at Bristol Motor Speedway, where just five cars finished on the lead lap. He still finished eighth.
MILESTONE MET: At Iowa, Elliott became the fifth-youngest Cup Series driver to reach 100 top-five finishes at 28 years, 6 months and 19 days. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native follows NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon as well as active drivers Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. Elliott is in a four-way tie for the most top-five finishes this season (seven).
READY FOR SOME MAGIC: This weekend, the Cup Series heads to the 1.058-mile oval of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In 10 starts at the track in NASCAR’s premier series, Elliott has two top-five finishes and three top-10s, all occurring in his last six starts. His best finish of second came in 2022. The 2020 Cup champion has led 99 laps at New Hampshire and has started inside the top 10 all but four times.
SIMILAR TRACK PERFORMANCE: In his 60 Cup starts on tracks measuring 1 to 1.37 miles in length, Elliott has earned four wins. His first came at Dover Motor Speedway in 2018 and was followed by his championship-clinching performance at Phoenix Raceway in 2020. His two most recent victories came in 2022 at Dover and Nashville Superspeedway. Accompanying the quartet of triumphs are 23 top-five finishes, 30 top-10s and 1,246 laps led. In four 2024 races on this variation of track, Elliott’s best finish is fifth (at Dover).
GREAT GUSTAFSON: Veteran crew chief Alan Gustafson has called 31 Cup Series races atop the pit box at New Hampshire. The Ormond Beach, Florida, native has two wins with two different drivers in his career on the 1.058-mile track, the first with Kyle Busch in 2006 and the second with Mark Martin in 2009. Along with Gustafson’s two wins, he has eight top-five finishes, 14 top-10s and 563 laps led.
FAST FIVE: Through 17 Cup Series races in 2024, the No. 9 pit crew ranks first in average four-tire pit stop time (10.575 seconds). In April at Texas, the five-person team knocked out the fastest four-tire stop of the season with a time of 9.076 seconds. The 2021 Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew award-winning group is comprised of Chad Avrit (rear-tire changer), Jared Erspamer (tire carrier), John Gianninoto (fueler), Nick O’Dell (front-tire changer) and T.J. Semke (jackman).
BACK IN BLUE: NAPA Auto Parts’ blue-based livery is on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the second weekend in a row. The Atlanta-based company has been the primary partner for Elliott in eight of his 10 Cup Series starts at the Loudon, New Hampshire, facility, including his best finish of second there in 2022. Get a look at all the angles of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet here.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 26 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 4th
No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
IOWA INSIGHT: Heading to Iowa Speedway for the first time with the NASCAR Cup Series, William Byron led Hendrick Motorsports with a strong second-place finish. After starting fourth, he initially lost a few spots but rallied to complete stage one in fourth. He remained in the top-five running order during stage two, but on a late restart he made contact with a competitor and finished the stage in 11th. Despite the stage two result, Byron and the No. 24 team went to work making up lost track position. He moved himself into the second position with under 100 laps to go and did his best to reel in the leader before ultimately crossing the finish line in the runner-up position.
SIMILAR IN SIZE: Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will mark Byron’s 48th start on a track 1 to 1.37 miles in length. In his previous 47 appearances, the 26-year-old driver has collected two pole awards, two wins, 10 top-five finishes, 20 top-10s and led 537 laps.
LOVIN’ LOUDON: Since 2018, Byron has six Cup Series starts at NHMS, all resulting in top-15 finishes with a best of 11th (2020 and 2022). He’s been a threat at “The Magic Mile” from day one, making his track debut in the ARCA Series East in 2015 when he qualified on the pole and led 68 of 70 laps before taking home the checkered flag. He followed it up in dominant fashion by starting from the pole and leading 161 of 175 laps en route to his sixth of seven NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victories in 2016. Moving up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2017, Byron earned a top-five finish after starting seventh and finishing third.
NEW HAMPSHIRE WIZARD: Byron isn’t the only one who enjoys racing at New Hampshire. Crew chief Rudy Fugle has three Cup Series starts under his belt with a best showing of 11th coming in the 2022 race with the No. 24 team. The Livonia, New York, native also has three Truck Series starts at the 1.058-mile oval with one pole award and two victories, including Byron’s 2016 win. In fact, Fugle’s Truck Series drivers average a starting position of 2.3 and finishing position of 3.0 at NHMS.
HEADING HOME: Traveling to New England for Sunday’s race, two crew members of the No. 24 team call New Hampshire Motor Speedway their home track. Part of the team since 2019, car chief Tyler Jones hails from South Royalton, Vermont, less than 100 miles northwest of “The Magic Mile.” Front-tire changer Jeff Cordero grew up in Salem, Connecticut, which is less than 200 miles south of NHMS.
PIT ROAD PROWESS: After 17 races in 2024, the No. 24 pit crew ranks second in the Cup Series for the fastest average four-tire pit stop (10.751 seconds). The No. 24 pit crew consists of Spencer Bishop (jackman), Cordero (front-tire changer), Orane Ossowski (rear-tire changer), Ryan Patton (tire carrier) and Landon Walker (fueler).
24 IN ‘24: Byron’s 2024 Cup Series campaign started off hot with three wins (currently tied for the most), including the season-opening DAYTONA 500. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has six top-five finishes (tied for fifth in the series) and 10 top-10s (tied for the most). He has the best average starting position (9.65) and is tied for the second-best average finish (12.47). After 17 races, he is up to fourth in the 2024 standings and holds 16 playoff points.
VALVOLINE RETURNS: Valvoline will make its second appearance of 2024 as the primary sponsor of Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Sunday’s race at New Hampshire. 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.
48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 12th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
TOP-10 LEADER: On Sunday at Iowa Speedway, Alex Bowman finished eighth to notch his 10th top-10 finish of 2024, putting him in a four-way tie for most in the NASCAR Cup Series. His 10 top-10 results and four top-fives both represent personal bests for the driver through 17 races in any Cup season.
FAST 48: Bowman and the No. 48 Ally Racing team rank 12th in the Cup standings, 117 points behind the leader. This season, they have an average finish of 13.24 (tied for sixth) and have finished in the top 10 in nine of the last 13 events. With nine races to go in the regular season, Bowman ranks 14th in the playoff standings, 66 points above the cut line.
DOUBLE MAGIC: NASCAR takes on New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday when Bowman will make his 13th career Cup Series start at the 1.058-mile oval. It will be his fourth race at “The Magic Mile” with primary sponsor Ally and his second with crew chief Blake Harris. In addition, the 31-year-old driver will pilot the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at the track. Bowman will be reunited with Greg Ives, his former Cup Series crew chief, for the Hendrick Motorsports effort.
50 WITH BLAKE: Sunday will mark Harris’ 50th start as crew chief for the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team. In his second year as a Hendrick Motorsports crew chief and third overall in the Cup Series, the Maypearl, Texas, native has 31 top-10 finishes and 10 top-fives in 82 career starts. At just 18 years old, Harris joined Evernham Motorsports (later Richard Petty Motorsports) in 2006 and has worked in racing ever since. Now 37, he enjoys spending time with his family, going to his mountain cabin, hiking and working on his shock company.
AUTOGRAPHS WITH ALEX: Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be active in the fan zone at New Hampshire. On Sunday, he can be found at the Hendrick Motorsports merchandise hauler at 11:30 a.m. local time signing autographs for 100 fans with an exclusive wristband. Fans who purchase a 1:24 scale diecast on site Friday, Saturday or Sunday (until 100 have sold) will receive a wristband for Sunday’s autograph session. Please visit the merchandise hauler at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for more information.
LIVE FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT: Join Bowman for views from the driver’s seat of his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend. Fans can ride along for Sunday’s 318.46-mile race by tuning into NASCAR’s in-car camera. Visit nascar.com/drive to experience the behind-the-scenes perspective firsthand.
HEARTS AND TAILS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: For four years, Bowman and Ally have teamed up to support Best Friends Animal Society and its vast network of partners. Last week, the organization launched its new “Bring Love Home” campaign with a website and compelling video. Every race weekend, the pair donates a total of $4,800 to help homeless pets. This weekend, the charitable donation will go to Hearts and Tails Animal Alliance. If you’re in town for the race, check out the animals available for adoption at the shelter located 34 miles southwest of the track. Not ready to adopt? Check out the website for details on how to help save a life by donating, volunteering or fostering.
FUELING THE PIT CREW: The Ally Racing pit crew ranks 10th on pit road for the best average four-tire stop (11.004). The five-man No. 48 crew is composed of jackman Allen Holman, tire carrier Brandon Grier, front-tire changer Donnie Tasser, rear-tire changer Andrew Bridgeforth and gasman Jacob Conley.
HENDRICK
MOTORSPORTS /
| 2024 | All-Time | Loudon | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Races | 17 | 1,362 | 52 |
| Wins | 7* | 308* | 9 |
| Poles | 5* | 251* | 7 |
| Top 5 | 24* | 1,256* | 45 |
| Top 10 | 37* | 2,149* | 82* |
| Laps Led | 1,134 | 80,891* | 2,651 |
| Stage Wins | 10 | 108 | 1 |
*Most **Most (tie)
THREE LEADERS: Following his third-place finish Sunday at Iowa Speedway, Chase Elliott became the third Hendrick Motorsports driver to lead the 2024 NASCAR Cup regular season standings. Teammates William Byron (one week) and Kyle Larson (nine weeks) previously sat atop the series, which has completed 17 of 36 points-paying events.
THIRD TIME: 2024 is the third time Hendrick Motorsports has placed three different drivers atop the standings in a single season. The team first accomplished it in 2009 with the Hall of Fame trio of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin. The second came last year with Alex Bowman, Byron and Larson.
POINT MADE: Going into the 18th points-paying race of 2024 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are within the top 12 in the Cup standings. Elliott (first), Larson (second) and Byron (fourth) occupy three of the top-four spots, while Bowman, who is tied for the most top-10 finishes in the series, is 12th overall.
DROUGHT BUSTER: Although Hendrick Motorsports has won nine Cup Series races at New Hampshire, its most recent victory at “The Magic Mile” dates to July 2012. Following that performance by driver Kasey Kahne, the team has earned four Cup championships and 104 points-paying victories on 26 other racetracks. Since then, Hendrick Motorsports has finished in every position inside the top 12 at New Hampshire – except first place.
CELEBRATING 40: In 2024, Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The team holds the all-time NASCAR Cup Series records in every major statistical category, including championships (14), wins (308), pole positions (251) and laps led (80,891). This season, it leads all Cup organizations with seven points-paying victories through 17 races.
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on challenges at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “New Hampshire is really challenging, especially with the bumps getting into turn three. Whether it’s being loose into the corners or whether your car is ‘bouncing’ into three, you have to be patient with your car. We’ve had some good runs there, and I like the track and the challenge it provides.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the challenges of New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “We’re looking forward to going to New Hampshire even though it has been a little bit of a difficult track for us. Typically, we are able to run in the top 10, but we never have the outright speed that we always look for. It’s just a tough place with flat corners. It’s got some bumps into (turn) three. So the track has good character, which we like because of the challenge of getting the car set up right and getting the balance right. Hopefully this trip we can get all that a bit closer than last year. We had an OK run there and are building on some of those notes to go and hopefully have a good weekend.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what has led to this season’s success and looking ahead to the playoffs: “I just think we have a really solid group, top to bottom. Everyone has been super committed to finding that 1% each week, and whatever that is, it is. I just think collectively we’ve been solid. I feel that we haven’t reached our full potential yet, and I think that’s exciting. I think that’s okay, too, because it is only halfway through the year. As we all know, the way this playoff situation is now, you want to be good those last 10 (races), and really good in the last five. The trick is being good enough to get to the Round of 8 and really try to be spectacular those last three or four weeks. So it’s really just about having a solid enough base to get you through there and really trying to hit home runs in those last few races.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the team’s potential and focus as we get closer to the playoffs: “I agree with him (Chase Elliott). I don’t think we’ve reached our full potential, and I don’t know that anybody ever does. You can always get better. But relative to our competitors, yeah, I think we have opportunity to improve a lot, but so do they. So you can’t just assume that they’re not going to get better, too. This time of year is always an arms race, so to speak. It’s always going to be about who can stockpile the most information and the most playoff points and put themselves in the best position to really go and execute well in the playoffs. I think we’re in a decent spot there and certainly have some good opportunities in the next few weeks to try to get good finishes. We have an opportunity for the playoff points based off regular season points finish and we certainly want to add more in stages and wins.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his thoughts about New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “I don’t really know why we haven’t gotten the finishes we want at New Hampshire. I had a lot of success there leading up to the Cup Series. And then even my first two years in Cup, relative to where I was running at other tracks, I thought I ran pretty well there. It just seems like with our current team, we just haven’t really been very good there. We just have to figure out what that is. We’ll go through a lot of notes this week and kind of have something comparable to go run there. Last year, we had some damage on the car. I believe the right-front splitter was caved in based on a pit road issue. Up until then, we had led some laps. And then we had an issue in practice – the steering rack was locked up. Just not a clean weekend last year, so I think that’s a track that, last year, we probably could have run top seven at. But this year going back, obviously it’s a big focus to try and get better. Based on how Phoenix (Raceway) and Gateway (WWT Raceway) were to start this year, there’s definitely some work to do.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what he expects at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “I love going to New Hampshire. It’s a great racing culture up there, but it’s also always been one of the toughest tracks on the circuit in my opinion. Especially with this car and the bumps on the track, I think this is one of the most difficult places, period, to get the handling right. You have to run into the corner with a lot of speed, go over those bumps and then put a little bit of wheel to finish the corner, but the bumps shift the car the other way. It’s just a really hard track for the teams and the drivers. That usually makes a good show. When the difficulty is high for us it usually creates disparity, especially from short run to long run. It puts on a good show. I’m looking forward to that challenge and to see if we can repeat some of what we found last weekend at Iowa (Speedway) and make it a little better.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his goals for the weekend and running double duty at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “New Hampshire has proved to be a decently challenging track for me. I was able to get a top 10 there back in 2021, but it’s certainly a place I’d like to improve. I’m excited about the opportunity to run in the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevy during this weekend’s Xfinity Series race. Hopefully those extra laps on Friday and Saturday will help me gain some additional insight on the track before Sunday’s Cup race. Our Ally Racing team is still working diligently to try and put the No. 48 back in victory lane.”
Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on Alex Bowman racing in the Xfinity Series and Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend: “Anytime we (Hendrick Motorsports) run that Xfinity car, I think we have the opportunity to put that thing (No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro) in victory lane. The team has already been able to do that a couple times this year. The interesting choice of that place for Alex is that New Hampshire is not one of his best tracks. He’s had a couple decent runs there, but overall it’s not statistically his best. But he chose it because he wants to get better there. I think it will be good for him to get some laps in the Xfinity car. Especially with the short practices, any lap time you get around that place is great. He’ll be able to see the evolution of the track on Saturday in the Xfinity car so when we go rolling into Sunday I think he’ll have a pretty good idea of how we need to approach it.”
