Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Talladega

Talladega Superspeedway
Sunday, April 27, 2025
2.66-Mile Tri-Oval
3:30 PM ET
Location: Talladega, Alabama
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (10 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 32 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Week: 1st (Bristol)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 4th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet

• Kyle Larson pulled off a NASCAR Cup Series/Xfinity Series sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago, logging both victories in dominant fashion. He is now the laps-led leader in both series, having paced 503 circuits in the Cup Series and 408 more in just two starts in the Xfinity Series.
• En route to his second premier series victory of the year and second straight at Bristol, Larson swept both stages. The last four times a driver won stage one, stage two and the race was done by Larson. The two stage victories tied Larson with Martin Truex Jr. for the most all time at 66.
• Larson matched his career-best finish at Talladega Superspeedway with a fourth-place run last fall. Along with a third-place run at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February, he has notched two top-five finishes in his last three starts at drafting tracks.
• The 32-year-old has earned 190 points at Talladega in the Next Gen era, third most in the Cup Series.
• Larson enters the weekend with the fifth-best average finish (12.33) and fifth-best average running position (11.28) so far this year. He is also tied for the series lead in top fives (five), top 10s (six) and laps run in the top 10 (1,744).

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 29 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last week: 15th (Bristol)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 5th

 No. 9 Prime Video Chevrolet

• Chase Elliott is the only NASCAR Cup Series driver to finish in the top 20 in all nine races this season.
• This weekend, the series heads to Talladega Superspeedway where Elliott is a two-time winner (Spring 2019 and Fall 2022) with 215 laps led across 18 starts.
• The 29-year-old is tied with teammate William Byron for the most points earned (240) at Talladega in the Next Gen era.
• Elliott has three total wins on drafting tracks, with a 2022 victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway sandwiched between his Talladega triumphs.
• He has the second-most wins behind Byron on drafting tracks in the Next Gen era (two).
• This season, Elliott has the fourth-best average finish (11.56), eighth-best average running position (13.54) and is tied for the fifth-most top-10 finishes (five).
• Talladega marks the first of three race weekends with new primary partner Prime Video on board the No. 9 Chevrolet. Prime Video will also serve as the team’s sponsor at Kansas Speedway and the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 27 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Week: 6th (Bristol)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 1st

No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet

• Before the NASCAR Cup Series off week, William Byron raced his way to a sixth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. It marked his sixth top 10 of the season, tied for the most in the field.
• So far in 2025, Byron leads the Cup Series in average starting position (9.67), average running position (9.25) and average finish (9.11). He’s also collected the second-most stage points with 92.
• In addition, Byron has run 1,089 laps in the top five (second most), 1,636 laps in the top 10 (fourth most) and led 354 laps (second most) in 2025.
• In the Next Gen era, Byron has four wins on drafting tracks, most among all drivers. Overall, the 27-year-old has five drafting wins which is tied for the third most among active drivers.
• In his Cup Series career at Talladega Superspeedway, the driver of the No. 24 has two runner-up finishes, tied for second most by a driver without a win. He also has four consecutive top-10 finishes, the longest active streak.
• With 14 starts at the Alabama-based track, Byron has an average finish of 14.43, sixth-best all time

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Week: 37th (Bristol)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 10th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet

• Alex Bowman secured his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series pole at Bristol Motor Speedway with a time of 14.91 seconds, a new fastest lap in the Next Gen era. He finished fourth place in stage one and second in stage two, but an issue in the final stage resulted in a 37th-place finish.
• Bowman enters this weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway 10th in the Cup Series points standings, 101 points behind leader and teammate, William Byron.
• The Tucson, Arizona, native has earned two top fives and five top 10s at Talladega, including a career-best, runner-up result in April 2019.
• For Best Friends Animal Society programming, Ally and Bowman will be partnering with Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as the selected shelter for this weekend at Talladega. 
• 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. To enter, fans can stop by the Ally Fan Zone and check out the camper. To enter online, visit ally.com/sweepstakes/nascar. 

Hendrick Motorsports

 
*Most all time
**Tied for most all time

• Hendrick Motorsports is the all-time leader in NASCAR Cup Series events at Talladega Superspeedway in wins (14), poles (13), top fives (67), top 10s (103) and laps led (3,091).
• The organization has led 693 of 797 laps across the last two Cup races (Darlington Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway). That upped the team’s total to 1,008 this year, the third-most through a season’s first nine races and the most since 1996.
• With Alex Bowman setting a new fast lap at Bristol Motor Speedway in a Next Gen car, Hendrick Motorsports won its second consecutive pole and its fourth in the last six events.
• With William Byron at Darlington and Kyle Larson at Bristol, a Hendrick Motorsports driver swept the stages in both events. The company’s four straight stage wins are just one shy of the all-time series record.
• Including Byron’s victory in the season-opening DAYTONA 500, Hendrick Motorsports is the only organization to have won at a drafting track in all four seasons in the Next Gen era. Its six wins at drafting tracks in that time are the most.
• Hendrick Motorsports is the only team with at least one car finishing in the top five of each of the season’s nine races. No other team has had a car finish in the top 10 of every event. All told, a Rick Hendrick-owned entry has finished in the top five in 17 consecutive Cup Series races, tied for the team’s third-longest such stretch and the longest since a string of 24 spanning the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

 
QUOTABLE /
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on Talladega Superspeedway: “Talladega is probably the best drafting track for myself and our team, even if the results don’t show it. We were able to get a top five earlier this year at Atlanta (Motor Speedway) so I’m hoping that with Cliff’s strategy we can once again have a good showing.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on Talladega Superspeedway: “Yeah, this track has always kind of been, to me, a second home track in a lot of ways, because of the distance. And I feel like the fans here have always been really good to us and good to me. I’ve always recognized that and appreciated that, and it’s one of the reasons why I always look forward to coming here. I’ve always enjoyed coming over here. It’s close to home.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on Talladega Superspeedway: “Talladega is the only drafting track I haven’t been able to win at. We’ve been close a lot, especially the last couple races. I think we really have our drafting package in a good place. It would be nice to come back from the break and start it off with a win, but the main goal is to survive and get a good showing in the end.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on Talladega Superspeedway: “Talladega is a mental game. It’s one of those tracks where you have to be locked in from the start. Any mistakes – whether it’s a poorly timed move, losing focus, or getting caught in the wrong lane – can cost you big time. I feel like they’re magnified because of how quickly things change in the draft. The goal is to minimize those mistakes, trust your strategy, and keep your mind right. The end of the race is usually chaotic, so staying mentally sharp and ready to adapt is just as important as having a fast car.”