Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Circuit of The Americas

Circuit of The Americas
Sunday, March 2, 2025
2.3-Mile Road Course
3:30 PM ET
Location: Austin, Texas
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (3 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM logo

5 KYLE LARSON
 Age: 32 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Week: 3rd (Atlanta)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: T-6th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet

• Kyle Larson won stage two and finished third at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, marking his third top-five finish on drafting-style tracks in his career.
• The Elk Grove, California, native scored two NASCAR Cup Series road course wins (Sonoma Raceway and the Charlotte ROVAL) in 2024, the only driver with multiple victories on serpentine tracks last season.
• In the Next Gen era, the driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet is tied for most road course wins with three.
• The 2021 Cup Series champion has six Cup road course victories during his career, one behind leader Chase Elliott among active drivers. The pair only trail Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight) all-time.
• Larson won the Circuit of The Americas Xfinity Series race last year, the first win in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports entry with the iconic livery raced by Ricky Hendrick.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
 Age: 29 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last week: 20th (Atlanta)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 10th

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

• Chase Elliott remains 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings two races into the season.
• The 29-year-old driver is a previous winner at Circuit of The Americas, emerging victorious in the 2021 rain-shortened Cup Series event. His average finish of 7.0 at the Texas track is fifth best.
• Elliott has seven premier series road course wins, ranking third all-time behind Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.
• His average finish of 9.14 on road courses ranks sixth all-time and leads active drivers with a minimum of four starts.
• On road courses last year, Elliott’s best finish was fourth at Sonoma Raceway. He also earned the fourth-most points (148).
• Elliott has led the second-most laps (147), has the most top-five finishes (eight) and is tied for the third-most top 10s (10) on road courses in the Next Gen car.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
 Age: 27 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Week: 27th (Atlanta)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 2nd

No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet

• William Byron is the most recent winner at Circuit of The Americas, capturing the pole in last year’s event and leading 42 of 68 laps en route to the checkered flag. He was also the pole sitter in 2023 at the serpentine course.
• In four starts at COTA, Byron has an average finish of 7.25, sixth best among all drivers. It’s also his best average finish at any track in which he’s made more than one start.
• Byron is one of only two drivers to have multiple wins on road courses in the last 13 events including his 2023 win at Watkins Glen International. In the last seven road course races, Byron has five top-10 finishes.
• In the Next Gen era, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native is third best in the Cup Series with two wins, five top-five finishes and 136 laps led on road courses.
• Aside from his usual Cup Series duties this weekend, Byron will also climb behind the wheel of the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. This will be his second Xfinity start at COTA (2023) where he previously started ninth and finished second.

48 ALEX BOWMAN
 Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Week: 26th (Atlanta)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 9th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet

• Alex Bowman heads to Circuit of The Americas ninth in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, 28 points behind the leader.
• Bowman has four starts and four top 10s at the Circuit of The Americas. His best finish came in a second-place run in 2022. He is one of three drivers to finish in the top 10 in all four races.
• Bowman’s average finish at the track is 4.25, his best of any stop on the Cup Series circuit.
• In 2024, the Tucson, Arizona, native won the Chicago Street Course, his first road course win in 35 starts.
• This week, Ally announced a partnership with the Unrivaled League to highlight the new Miami-based, three-on-three professional women’s basketball league of which Ally is a founding partner. The No. 48 Ally Chevrolet will feature a special paint scheme designed by artist, Sophia Change to celebrate the league at an upcoming race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• For the Best Friends Society programming, Ally and Bowman will be partnering with All Kind Animal Initiative in Abilene, Texas, as their selected shelter for this weekend. 
• Ally and HENDRICKCARS.COM are teaming up again to give fans the chance to win prizes with this year’s “Open Road Sweepstakes.” Fans can win VIP experiences at various races throughout the season and one lucky winner will hit the open road in a Chevy Silverado LT Trail Boss with an Airstream camper. Fans can stop by the Ally Fan Zone to enter the sweepstakes in-person and check out the camper. Fans can also enter at ally.com/sweepstakes/nascar.

Hendrick Motorsports

 
*Most all time
**Tied for most all time

• Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won two of the four NASCAR Cup Series events at the Circuit of The Americas with Chase Elliott winning the inaugural event in 2021 and William Byron taking the checkered flag last year.
• The organization leads stock car’s premier series in nearly all categories at COTA including wins (two), poles (two), top-five finishes (eight), top-10 finishes (nine) and laps led (82).
• Currently, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers rank in the top 10 of the NASCAR Cup Series standings with Byron in second, Kyle Larson in sixth, Alex Bowman in ninth and Elliott in 10th.
• In the last 11 road course races in the Cup Series, Hendrick Motorsports has won five of them and is the only organization with more than one victory over that span.
• Hendrick Motorsports is also the defending winner of the Xfinity Series race at COTA with Larson getting to the stripe first last year. Byron will get the nod in the first event of the season for the organization’s No. 17 entry this week.

 QUOTABLE /
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on the new configuration at COTA: “I have spent some time in the simulator this week on the new layout and we’ll see how that translates to real life. I think it should be better for overall entertainment. The fans are going to see us come around maybe 30 more times or whatever that number is, so it will definitely be better for them in that aspect.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on the new configuration at COTA: “It’s kind of one of those things where it’s tough because the only thing you can do is simulator work until you can get some eyes on it. The good news is that we’ve got some practice this week to understand the reconfiguration. I do not have my head wrapped around it completely at this point. I mean, I know what it’s supposed to look like, but I think until you really get out there and feel it – for me, it’s always hard to kind of understand exactly how things are going to be. And I kind of hate guessing because I don’t want to guess wrong in that situation, so I just kind of look forward to practice, honestly, more than anything. I would have to imagine it will change the racing a little, I would think, just based off the way it’s shaped. So, hopefully it gives more opportunities to get crafty; have some more options, opportunities to pass or just be different. If it does, great. And if it doesn’t, it’ll look like it has for the last few years out there.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on heading COTA: “I’m more than ready to get to COTA. We’ve always been fast there and last year really showed what this team is capable of. The course will be shorter this time, but that’s where the extra laps in the Xfinity car should help. After the last two weekends of drafting, I’m happy to be going to a road course that takes such technique.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on returning to COTA: “We’ve been strong at COTA over the last four years. I think our worst finish was eighth in 2021, so I’m hoping we can keep that streak going and have a strong weekend. We need to qualify well, collect stage points and just maintain track position to be there at the end.”