Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Phoenix

Phoenix Raceway
Sunday, March 9, 2025
1-Mile Oval
3:30 PM ET
Location: Avondale, Arizona
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (4 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
 Age: 32 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Week: 32nd (Circuit of The Americas)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 16th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet

• Kyle Larson has more top-five finishes (nine) and top 10s (13) at Phoenix Raceway than any other track.
• The Elk Grove, California, native has nine wins on the West Coast, second among active drivers.
• In the season finale in 2021, Larson went from fourth to first after a fast stop by the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM pit crew to capture the win and the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
• New this season is an additional championship point for posting the fastest lap in a race. Larson posted the fastest lap last Sunday at Circuit of The Americas.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
 Age: 29 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last week: 4th (Circuit of The Americas)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: t-4th

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

• Last weekend at Circuit of The Americas, Chase Elliott overcame getting spun on the first lap to post a fourth-place finish.
• The top five at COTA helped Elliott move from 10th to a tie for fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings.
• Heading to Phoenix Raceway this weekend, the 29-year-old is looking to earn his second Cup Series win on the 1-mile oval. He emerged victorious in the 2020 season finale to earn his first premier series championship.
• Elliott’s 553 laps led at Phoenix are his second most behind Martinsville Speedway (1,233).
• In his five starts at Phoenix in the Next Gen era, Elliott has an average starting position of 10.4 and has led 57 laps.
• Crew chief Alan Gustafson has the second-most wins among active crew chiefs at Phoenix with four, each with a different driver (Kyle Busch, Elliott, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin).

24 WILLIAM BYRON
 Age: 27 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Week: 2nd (Circuit of The Americas)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 1st

No. 24 Z by HP Chevrolet

• Competing in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series events at Circuit of The Americas, William Byron scored a pair of runner-up finishes. His second-place finish on Sunday was enough to make him the current Cup Series points leader.
• So far in 2025, the 27-year-old has an average running position of 8.8 and an average finish of 10th – both good enough for second best. He also has collected 31 stage points this season (fourth most) and is the only driver to have led a lap in every points-paying event.
• In nine of the last 10 points-paying races, Byron has finished in the top six. The only exception came at Atlanta Motor Speedway where he was contending for the win in the closing laps before being involved in an incident.
• With 14 starts at Phoenix Raceway, Byron has an average finish of 11.14 – his fourth-best average at a track with more than one start. He also has eight top-10 finishes, tied for his best at any track.
• At the desert-based oval, Byron has three stage wins – his most at a track – and has 17 consecutive top-10 stage finishes, the Cup Series’ longest active streak. He also has six top-10 finishes in four of the last five Phoenix races.
• In the Next Gen era, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has two wins, 190 laps led (fifth) and has collected 232 points (second) at Phoenix. He also has run 1,351 laps in the top five (most) and 1,677 laps in the top 10 (second).

48 ALEX BOWMAN
 Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Week: 9th (Circuit of The Americas)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 7th
 
No. 48 Ally Best Friends Animal Society Chevrolet

• Alex Bowman heads to his home track, Phoenix Raceway, seventh in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, 29 points behind the leader.
• Bowman has 19 starts at Phoenix, earned a pole in his first Phoenix start with Hendrick Motorsports in 2016 and has two top-10 finishes (2016, 2023).
• The Arizona native will be running double-duty this weekend, piloting the No. 48 in the Cup Series and the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday. This will mark Bowman’s sixth Xfinity start at Phoenix with his best finish coming in an eighth-place run in 2017.
• The No. 48 will be sporting different but familiar colors this weekend on the No. 48 Best Friends Society Chevrolet. In an effort to try to #SaveThemAll, Ally is donating $4,800 each week to benefit both Best Friends and a partner animal shelter in each race market. If Bowman wins, Ally will up their portion of the donation to $10,000. Since 2021, Ally and Bowman have helped raise over $725,000 and hope to reach $1 million by 2026. The selected shelter for this weekend is Arizona Animal Welfare League, located in Avondale, Arizona.
• 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 leads the NASCAR Cup Series in most statistical categories at Phoenix Raceway including wins (13), poles (15), top-five finishes (58), top-10 finishes (105) and laps led (3,570).
• With William Byron (second), Chase Elliott (fourth) and Alex Bowman (ninth) all finishing in the top 10 on Sunday at Circuit of The Americas, Hendrick Motorsports now has six top 10s in the season’s first three races, the most of any organization by two.
• The West Coast has been kind to Hendrick Motorsports. The company’s 46 victories are double more than any other company in such races. It’s also the leader in top fives in the early going with four.
• All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are currently in the playoffs in terms of the NASCAR Cup Series points standings.

 QUOTABLE /
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on the importance of running well at Phoenix Raceway: “Based on where we finished in the past few finales, I think Hendrick Motorsports as a whole wants to improve at Phoenix (Raceway). We’ve had good runs and I know (No. 5 crew chief) Cliff (Daniels) and everyone on the (No.) 5 team and Hendrick Motorsports are working hard so that we can take a step up in Phoenix.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on the season so far and heading into Phoenix: “I think right now, for us, we just want to have a good clean race. The team has put in the work to bring fast Chevrolets for me each week, but we’ve unfortunately had something happen to us in every race. To bounce back last week and get a top five was big. Phoenix hasn’t necessarily been a strong track for us in the Next Gen, but we made some headway there last fall, so I’m looking forward to seeing how we stack up this weekend.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on the season thus far: “We definitely have some good momentum on our side and are really clicking and executing at a high level. Last weekend showed that especially. We unloaded a little bit off in COTA but dialed it in by race time. Hopefully this weekend we unload closer to where we need to be and go from there. This is obviously a crucial track to gain any notes you can at.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on challenges of Phoenix Raceway: “Phoenix is a very interesting and tricky track. Turns one and two are very flat and then you have turns three and four that have banking so you can’t set your car up for one corner you have to compromise from end to end. A lot of the other tracks we visit are cut and dry and Phoenix is far from that. Phoenix has been rough on the 48 team the last few years. I just want to go there, run well, be competitive and hopefully be there at the end. Winning at my hometown track would be pretty cool.”