Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Homestead-Miami

Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024
1.5-Mile Oval
2:30 PM ET
Location: Homestead, Florida
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (Race 34 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM logo

5 KYLE LARSON
 Age: 32 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Week: 11th (Las Vegas)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 2nd (-7)

 No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Kyle Larson’s 13 top-five finishes this season are tied for the most in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has run the most laps in the top five through 33 events (4,246) in 2024 and his 10.34 average running position is also tops.
• The 2021 Cup Series champion is 35 markers ahead of the playoff elimination line entering the penultimate race in the Round of 8. He has 19 more playoff points than any other driver.
• Larson has led the most laps in four of the last eight races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He’s won six stages at the South Florida track, the most by four.
• With two victories on non-drafting, 1.5-mile tracks this year, Larson is the only multi-time winner. His six wins in 2024 are double his nearest competitor.
• The 32-year-old driver is the only competitor to have eclipsed the 1,000-laps-led barrier in 2024 with 1,615 – 616 more than any other driver. His 12 stage wins are one more than anyone else.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
 Age: 28 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last week: 33rd (Las Vegas)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 8th (-68)

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Chase Elliott enters the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 8 in the eighth position in the standings, 53 points below the elimination line.
• The 28-year-old is in his seventh appearance in the Round of 8, the third-most among active playoff drivers. He’s advanced to the Championship 4 in his three most recent postseason berths (2020-2022) and won the championship in 2020.
• Elliott has the second-best average finish (10.38) at Homestead-Miami Speedway among active Cup drivers with at least two starts. In six races on 1.5-mile tracks in 2024, the driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has earned 182 points. That includes a victory at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this season, the 19th of his career.
• Elliott has won at two of three remaining playoff venues. He was triumphant in the penultimate race of the 2020 season at Martinsville Speedway before capturing both the victory and the Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway the following weekend.
• Through 33 races in 2024, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native has nine top-five finishes and is tied for the fourth-most top 10s with 16. He also has the third-best average running position (12).

24 WILLIAM BYRON
 Age: 26 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Week: 4th (Las Vegas)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 3rd (-15)
 
No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• William Byron opened the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 8 with crucial stage points and a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last week. It marked his fourth consecutive top-four finish – the longest by a driver since he did it in 2023.
• Heading into the second race of the Round of 8, Byron is fourth in the points standings, 27 points above the elimination line.
• So far in the 2024 playoffs, Byron has accumulated 67 stage points (most by a playoff driver) and 254 points total (second most).
• The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has at least one victory at each remaining venue including at Martinsville Speedway earlier this season.
• Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be Byron’s 250th start in the Cup Series. Only four drivers have collected the checkered flag in their 250th start with Chris Buescher the most recent in 2022.
• Byron has one win (2021), two top-five finishes and three top 10s at Homestead-Miami. He’s led 159 laps over his last three starts there.
• In six races at 1.5-mile tracks this season, Byron has collected the most points (238) and has an active streak of three consecutive top-10 results.
• In 2024, Byron has 12 top-five finishes and 18 top 10s – third most in both categories.

48 ALEX BOWMAN
 Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Week: 5th (Las Vegas)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 9th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
 

• Alex Bowman notched his fourth top five at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Sunday, coming home fifth. With the finish, he tied his career marks for a single season in top fives (eight) and top 10s (16), both of which came in 2021.
• This Sunday will mark Bowman’s ninth career NASCAR Cup Series start at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he has finished in the top 10 in two of his last four events.
• Bowman is in a three-way tie for the longest active top-10 streak on 1.5-mile tracks (four). He has finished ninth or better in each of the last four races at venues of this size.
• With 180 points earned on 1.5-mile tracks this season, Bowman sits with all three Hendrick Motorsports teammates (William Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson) in the top 10 for the most points earned on tracks this length this season.
• For four years, Bowman and Ally have teamed up to support Best Friends Animal Society and its vast network of partners. Every race weekend, the pair donates $4,800 to help homeless pets. This weekend, the charitable donation will go to South Florida Beagle Rescue in Miami

Hendrick Motorsports
 

*Most
**Tied for most

• Since the start of 2020, Hendrick Motorsports has won five of 16 races held in the state of Florida, the most of any organziation in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Over the last three events at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports drivers have combined to lead 463 of 801 laps and have won four of six stages.
• This weekend, all four Hendrick Motorsports cars will sport the name of a family in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Ronald McDonald House.
• Hendrick Motorsports has gone to victory lane 60 times in playoff races, 23 more than any other team. The organization’s 11 wins in 2024 are the most by five.
• All four Hendrick Motorsports pit crews rank in the top six in terms of average time for a four-tire pit stop. The No. 24 over-the-wall squad of William Byron leads the organization and is second in the Cup Series at 10.87 seconds.

QUOTABLE /
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on Homestead-Miami Speedway: “I look forward to racing at Homestead-Miami – I just really love that track. We only get to go there once a year, whereas a lot of intermediates we go to twice a year. I wish we could go there twice because I just love the track. So yeah, I look forward to going there because, one, I love it, and we’re really, really fast there. And yeah, it’s just a good track for us.”

Chase Elliott, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the team’s outlook following Las Vegas: “Going into the Round of 8, our mindset was we’re going to have to win to have a shot in Phoenix, so what happened at Las Vegas doesn’t really change that. It was unfortunate because our NAPA Chevy was really, really good and I think we would have potentially had a shot at it there at the end if we hadn’t got caught up in that incident. The fact that we had speed though gives me confidence heading into Homestead this weekend. Our team is fully capable of winning. We just need to go and execute.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway: “We’re always really good at Homestead. It’s just trying to be the best car. We’ve focused a lot on that in the Chevy simulator this week. I feel like we’re in a really good spot as a team. Hopefully we can go in there with a good baseline setup and we can work through and build off of it through the weekend to be that best car.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway: “With a top five at (Las) Vegas (Motor Speedway), our Ally Racing No. 48 team is still pushing hard for a strong finish to the season. Homestead is a place I’ve been working hard at in the simulator to improve. I’ve had a couple better finishes for myself in that last handful of races there but certainly nowhere near where I want to be yet. Hopefully that practice will pay off and we can execute a solid race on Sunday as a team.”