Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Bowman Gray

NEXT RACE
Bowman Gray Stadium
Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025
0.25-mile short track
8 PM ET
Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (exhibition race)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
 Age: 32 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Week: N/A
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: N/A

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet

2024Cup CareerClash
Races353669
Wins6290
Poles5210
Top 5151196
Top 10181827
Laps Led1,7009,2563
Stage Wins1262N/A
Average Finish12.914.17.9
  • Kyle Larson competed in an ARCA East Series event on the .25-mile Bowman Gray Stadium in 2012. The Elk Grove, California, native won the pole and finished fifth.
  • For the past three years, the Clash was held in Southern California on a .25-mile track built inside the LA Coliseum. The driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet finished fifth in each of those events.
  • With 407, Larson has turned the third-most laps inside the top 10 in the last three Clash main events.
  • The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion has the third-best average finish (7.59) in the Next Gen car in points-paying events on short tracks.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 29 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last week: N/A
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: N/A

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

2024Cup CareerClash
Races363228
Wins1190
Poles0120
Top 5111041
Top 10191714
Laps Led4315,52628
Stage Wins238N/A
Average Finish11.712.911.3
  • Chase Elliott enters his 10th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025. It marks the 21st for crew chief Alan Gustafson.
  • This weekend, the series takes on Bowman Gray Stadium for the Clash for the first time in the sport’s modern era. Elliott competed at the North Carolina short track in the ARCA East Series in 2011 and 2012, finishing 18th and sixth, respectively.
  • The 29-year-old driver’s overall best finish of second in the Clash came in 2021 on the Daytona Road Course.
  • In points-paying races on short tracks in the Next Gen car, Elliott has the second-best average finish (7.5). Last season, he was the only Cup Series driver to finish inside the top 10 in all seven points-paying short track races.
  • Overall, Elliott ended 2024 with the best average finish (11.7) among full-time premier series drivers. He had one win (Texas Motor Speedway).
  • The Dawsonville, Georgia, native won the 2024 National Motorsports Press Association’s Most Popular Driver award for the seventh straight season. It was the 17th consecutive season a Hendrick Motorsports driver won.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
 Age: 27 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Week: N/A
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: N/A

No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet

2024Cup CareerClash
Races362525
Wins3130
Poles1130
Top 513541
Top 10211044
Laps Led3572,9784
Stage Wins223N/A
Average Finish12.915.29.0
  • William Byron has raced at Bowman Gray prior in the ARCA East Series in 2015, scoring a 15th-place finish.
  • The last three Clash events were held at the LA Coliseum. Over those starts, the 27-year-old driver made the main event each year and had an average running position of 5.78, second best in the field, and an average finish of 8.67.
  • At the Coliseum, Byron spent 231 laps running in the top five (third most) and 451 laps in the top 10, tops among all drivers.
  • In the Next Gen era on short tracks, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has an average finish of 11.53, good enough for sixth best.

48 ALEX BOWMAN

Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Week: N/A
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: N/A

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet

2024Cup CareerClash
Races363256
Wins180
Poles150
Top 58403
Top 1017965
Laps Led671,3682
Stage Wins17N/A
Average Finish14.819.46.7
  • Alex Bowman returns to race for the No. 48 Ally Racing team for the fifth consecutive year. This year marks Bowman’s eighth season with Hendrick Motorsports and his 11th in the NASCAR Cup Series.
  • Bowman is one of the active NASCAR Cup Series drivers who have raced at Bowman Gray Stadium – the site of this year’s Clash. The Tucson, Arizona, native raced at Bowman Gray in 2011 in the ARCA East Series.
  • Blake Harris enters his third year as crew chief for the No. 48 Ally Racing team. Under Harris’ leadership, Bowman has achieved one victory (Chicago Street Course – 2024), 12 top-five finishes, 27 top 10s and three poles. The win at Chicago in 2024 secured the team’s spot in the NASCAR playoffs, marking Harris’ first such run as a crew chief.
  • The LA Coliseum has hosted the event for the past three years before the change to Bowman Gray Stadium. The 31-year-old made the main event in two of three years with an average running position of 7.09, placing him sixth best, and an average finish of 5.0.


HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS

  • Hendrick Motorsports enters the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season as the circuit’s all-time leader in points-paying wins (312) and championships (14).
  • The organization has gone to victory lane seven times in the Clash, third-most all-time. That includes two wins apiece for Ken Schrader, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson as well as one for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  • With 39, Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins in special events by 11 over any other organization. In addition to its seven wins in the Clash, the company has also piled up 16 wins in qualifiers, 11 All-Star Race victories and five wins in the All-Star Open.
  • Since 2020, Hendrick Motorsports has claimed seven of 13 wins at new tracks in the NASCAR Cup Series.
  • In the Next-Gen era (2022-present), Hendrick Motorsports drivers have combined to lead the NASCAR Cup Series in several short-track categories including poles (seven), top-five finishes (25), top-10 finishes (42), average start (10.72) and average finish (10.49). Its five victories are tied for the most.


QUOTABLE

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on what to expect at Bowman Gray Stadium: “I’m sure it’ll be tough to pass this weekend. I hope we can give the fans the kind of exciting racing they’re used to seeing on a Saturday night in the summer. I’m sure the energy will be high in the stands – and be crazy on the track, too.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on heading to Bowman Gray Stadium for the Clash: “I think that it’s probably going to be very similar to what the Clash was from a viewing standpoint or a fan standpoint. It logistically makes way more sense. I think having it out there in Los Angeles was a great thought. I commend them for the effort in doing it. But I think the shine wore off of it after the first year. I think that the (Bowman Gray) Stadium is a place that has some historical value from a NASCAR presence perspective. And they have weekly shows, and they have these modified races up there and other classes too. And I just think that people are going to be really excited for it. I think that that’s going to last more than a year, in my opinion. I could be totally wrong, and (I’m) not knocking the folks that came out to the Clash (in LA) every year either, because there were still a good number, but certainly not quite like it was that first year. So, hopefully it just carries the energy a little further before they have to switch it up again.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium: “The track is even smaller than the Coliseum, so I’ll be interested to see if that expands at all for us, if they move some things around. But, I think that it’s just a really tight quarters race track and it’s going to create some bumping and banging naturally because that’s the only way to pass.

“I feel like the fan base is a lot more traditional, so there’ll be a lot of passionate race fans. So, I’m sure if you move someone out of the way or if you get wrecked, you’ll hear about it. So it’ll be fun to see how the fan interaction is for sure.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on Bowman Gray Stadium: “Obviously, it’s a really small place about like the Coliseum, probably similar size, maybe a little bit narrower – excited how close that is. I’ve raced there, but I’ve also sat in the stands there and the atmosphere there is unlike anywhere else we go. I’ve never seen the pace car driver get flipped off anywhere except for there. So, pretty excited to go there and get to run a Cup car. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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