Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Martinsville

Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024
0.526-Mile Oval
2 PM ET
Location: Martinsville, Virginia
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (Race 35 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
 Age: 32 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Week: 13th (Homestead-Miami)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 3rd (-29)

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Kyle Larson has run a NASCAR Cup Series-high 4,344 laps in the top five through 34 events in 2024 and his 10.45 average running position is tied for the series lead.
• The 2021 Cup Series champion is seven markers below the elimination line entering the final race of the Round of 8.
• Since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, there have been a total of 11 elimination races in the Round of 16, Round of 12 and Round of 8. Larson has won four of those events (36%) including the last two (Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte ROVAL).
• Earlier this year at Martinsville Speedway, Larson won the pole, finished second and scored the most points (53) in Hendrick Motorsports’ historic 1-2-3 finish.
• There have been six short track races this season and Larson leads the series in points earned with 260.
• The 32-year-old driver has 12 stage wins in 2024 – one more than any other competitor. Larson’s 1,616 laps led is 614 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: 5th (Homestead-Miami)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 8th (-65)

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Heading into this weekend’s elimination race, Chase Elliott is eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings. He’s 43 points below the Round of 8 cutoff point to advance to the Championship 4.
• Elliott has won the season’s penultimate event to advance to the Championship 4 before. In 2020, he led 236 laps en route to a win at Martinsville and proved triumphant at Phoenix Raceway the following weekend to capture the Cup Series championship.
• The 28-year-old is the only driver to finish inside the top 10 in all six short track races this season. His streak of six straight top 10s on tracks less than 1 mile in length is his personal best in the Cup Series. Elliott’s points earned across those races (230) are third best.
• Elliott has the fifth-best average finish (12.67) at Martinsville Speedway among active Cup drivers with at least two starts. He’s led a career-high 1,104 laps at the Virginia short track and his 11 top-10 finishes are his second most on current tracks. His six stage wins at Martinsville rank second in the field.
• In the Next Gen era at Martinsville, Elliott has spent the most laps inside the top five (1,336) and he’s led the second-most laps (386).
• His average finish on short tracks in the Next Gen era is second best at 7.87.
• In his most recent start at the paperclip-shaped track, he was part of a historic 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports in its 40th season, with Elliott placing third after leading 64 laps.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
 Age: 26 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Week: 6th (Homestead-Miami)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 2nd (-22)

No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• In the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, William Byron quickly powered his way inside the top 10 before the end of stage one, picking up crucial points in both stages. Byron went on to finish sixth, his fifth consecutive top-six finish.
• Heading into the final race of the Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway, Byron is fourth in the points standings, seven tallies above the elimination line.
• So far in the 2024 playoffs, Byron has accumulated 77 stage points (most by a playoff driver) and 293 points total (second most among playoff drivers).
• The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has at least one victory at each of the remaining two venues (Martinsville, Phoenix Raceway).
• Byron has two wins at Martinsville including earlier this season when Hendrick Motorsports celebrated its 40th anniversary with a 1-2-3 finish. His two victories are tied for his most at a single track (Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway) and is ranked fourth in the organization’s history for most Martinsville wins behind three NASCAR Hall of Famers – Jeff Gordon (9), Jimmie Johnson (9), and Darrell Waltrip (4).
• The 26-year-old driver also has five top-five finishes at the paperclip-shaped track with seven top 10s with 309 laps led, his most laps led at a single track. He also has an average finish of 13.85, eighth among active drivers with at least two starts.
• During the Next Gen era, Byron has two wins on short tracks, as well as an average running position of 11.88.
• In 2024, Byron has 12 top-five finishes (third most) and 19 top 10s (tied for the third).

48 ALEX BOWMAN
 Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Week: 7th (Homestead-Miami)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 9th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Alex Bowman finished seventh at Homestead-Miami Speedway last Sunday, his best showing in nine starts at the venue. The 31-year-old now has 17 top 10s, his most in a season and good for a tie for the fourth-most in the NASCAR Cup Series this season. He also currently has eight top fives, tied for his most in a season (2021).
• This weekend, NASCAR returns to Martinsville Speedway where Bowman scored a victory In October 2021.
• On short tracks in 2024, Bowman has four top-10 finishes and 37 laps led, his most in a single season. Prior to this year, Bowman had led 29 laps on short tracks in his Cup Series career.
• Bowman and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates rank in the top 10 for most points earned on short tracks this season. The driver of the No. 48 ranks ninth with 174 points collected.
• Ally and Hendrick Automotive Group have teamed together to celebrate Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary by giving away a 40th Anniversary Edition Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE through the Ally “Win Your Wheels fueled by HendrickCars.com” sweepstakes. Five finalists will visit the organization’s campus this week for a meet-and-greet with Hendrick Motorsports executives, drivers and a tour. All finalists will receive key fobs to try to start the special edition Camaro in hopes of being the lucky individual with the winning fob in hand.
• 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 Angels of Assisi located in Roanoke, Virginia.

Hendrick Motorsports
 

*Most
**Tied for most

• Hendrick Motorsports has won five of the last eight races at Martinsville Speedway with all four active drivers winning at least once.
• The organization leads in most statistical categories at the 0.526-mile short track, including wins (29), poles (20), top-five finishes (93), top 10s (150) and laps led (10,852). A Hendrick Motorsports driver has finished in the top two at Martinsville in nine of the last 11 events.
• A Hendrick Motorsports car has sat on the pole in four of the last five short track races. The organization’s drivers have combined to lead 39% of laps on short tracks this season.
• 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 10.83 seconds.

 QUOTABLE /
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on Martinsville Speedway: “We’ve got a win and a couple second-place finishes I think at Martinsville since I joined Hendrick Motorsports. It’s not always been a great track for me, but I think that Hendrick Motorsports has a great package for the track and it has definitely helped me. Hopefully, we can battle for stage wins and the victory on Sunday.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his mentality heading into this weekend’s elimination race: “I try hard not to overthink the situation. To be candid, we’ve been in this spot before, so it’s not like this is the first time I’ve been through this or had to experience this. Having done that before and been in this spot, I think that it gives you a little bit of a sense of peace and just kind of knowing how to handle it and knowing that your team can get it done.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Martinsville Speedway: “It’s a place that I know everyone at Hendrick Motorsports puts a lot of emphasis on being competitive at. I know last fall isn’t what we wanted and I’m hopeful that when we go back this time in the fall we’re really competitive. We know what the mission is for the weekend and it’s our job to execute and make it happen.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at Martinsville Speedway: “I think we probably should have finished a little better than eighth there in the spring. We kind of got run over every which way at the green-white checkered (flag). I think we can be strong there, for sure. Obviously cheering hard for my Hendrick Motorsports teammates to go make the Championship 4. We are doing everything we can to go run up front and maybe come home with a trophy. I love Martinsville. It’s become an entirely different animal with this Next Gen car. It will be interesting to see what this new soft tire does too. It’s supposed to have a lot of fall off. If it falls off like predicted, we will see a lot of green flag pit stops, which we rarely see at Martinsville.”