Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Atlanta

Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sunday, Feb. 22
1.54-Mile Quad-Oval
3 p.m. ET
Location: Hampton, Georgia
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series race (2 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 33 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Week: 16th (Daytona)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: T-14th

No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet

• Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team are tied for 14th in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings after last week’s DAYTONA 500, 29 points behind first place.
• Larson finished third at Atlanta Motor Speedway last February in a three-wide photo finish.
• The Elk Grove, California, native has won three of the last 11 drafting-track stages.
• Since 2025, Larson ranks eighth in passing, 10th in defense and fifth on restarts at drafting tracks.
• The 33-year-old has earned 268 points on drafting tracks over the last eight races, ranking second overall, just 11 points shy of the top spot.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 30 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last week: 4th (Daytona)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 3rd

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

• Last weekend, Chase Elliott nearly won his first DAYTONA 500. He had the lead coming out of the final turn and got caught up in a multi-car incident coming to the checkered flag, ultimately crossing the finish line in fourth.
• Elliott heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway as the most recent NASCAR Cup Series race winner at the track. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native led 41 laps en route to victory last June. It was his second Cup Series triumph at his home track.
• On the current Atlanta configuration, the 30-year-old driver has the best average finish (9.14) and the second-best average running position (11.15) among active Cup Series drivers. He’s led the fourth-most laps (166) and has the third-most stage wins (two).
• Last season at the 1.54-mile quad-oval, Elliott was tied for the most points earned (74). In total, the driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet has earned the second-most points (257) on the track’s current layout.
• Elliott’s three top-five finishes and four top 10s in the last five races at drafting tracks lead the series.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 28 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Week: 12th (Daytona)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 18th

No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet

• Despite starting 39th in a backup car Sunday, William Byron still had a chance at a DAYTONA 500 three-peat in the closing laps. Unfortunately, after taking the white flag, he was shuffled out of contention before securing a 12th-place finish.
• In 41 starts on drafting tracks, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has five wins – three at Daytona International Speedway and two at Atlanta Motor Speedway. His five drafting wins puts him in a tie with Jimmie Johnson for the second most all time at Hendrick Motorsports behind only vice chairman Jeff Gordon (12). It is also tied for the third most among active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• On drafting tracks in the Next Gen era, Byron has led the fourth-most laps (269). In the last eight races at drafting tracks, the 28-year-old driver has earned the third-most points (242).
• Since Atlanta Motor Speedway was reconfigured, Byron has the sixth-best average running position of 13.53 and has led the third-most laps (179).
• In the Georgia track’s history, Byron has two wins which is tied with teammate Chase Elliott for the third most by a Hendrick Motorsports driver.

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 32 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Week: 40th (Daytona)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 36th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet

• Last week in the NASCAR Cup Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet finished 40th after being involved in an incident on lap 124.
• In the last three races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bowman has earned two top-five finishes. That includes his best finish at the track of third after leading 32 laps in June last year.
• Bowman’s best finish on drafting tracks is second. He has earned a runner-up finish twice, both times finishing second to a teammate (William Byron, 2024 DAYTONA 500, Chase Elliott, 2019 Talladega).

17 COREY DAY
Age: 20 (November 28, 2005)
Hometown: Clovis, California
Last Finish: 27th (Daytona)
Crew Chief: Adam Wall
Standings: 24th

• Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be Corey Day’s first career start at the 1.54-mile track.
• His experience on drafting tracks is limited to two starts at Daytona International Speedway, one in the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevy last week in the NOAPS race and one ARCA Series start in 2025.
• The last Hendrick Motorsports NOAPS start at Atlanta was in 2007; Day’s start will be the team’s first time on the track’s new configuration.

Hendrick Motorsports

 
*Most
**Tied for most

• Hendrick Motorsports will eclipse 5,000 all-time NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday. Currently, the team sits at 4,997.
• The organization remains the premier series’ standard bearer in wins (320), poles (259), top-five finishes (1,323), top-10 finishes (2,261) and laps led (85,376).
• Since a repave and reconfiguration at Atlanta in the summer of 2021, Hendrick Motorsports has combined to win four of eight races at the 1.54-mile quad-oval with both Chase Elliott and William Byron winning twice.
• The organization’s 18 victories, 69 top fives, 108 top 10s and 3,763 laps led are all the most ever at Atlanta. Hendrick Motorsports’ 35 wins at drafting tracks are the most by 14.

QUOTABLE /
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on going to Atlanta Motor Speedway: “Our No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team has shown strong speed to start the season, which gives us confidence heading into another drafting track weekend. Track position will be even more critical, so one of our focuses is on putting together a solid qualifying effort to set ourselves up for Sunday. We’re excited to have Valvoline back on board our Chevrolet and look forward to making the most of the opportunity.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on racing at his home track: “For me, it’s nice to stay close to home, number one, but number two, I think it’s the excitement and the energy. I got to experience that firsthand after the race there over the summer (after the win), which was just really cool to see and kind of feel that support. It’s a special place. It’s my home track. I think there’s been a lot of regenerated excitement for the speedway since the change. People have been telling me how much they enjoy going down there again, and that’s always cool too. So, all of that is fun. I’m glad there’s two races too. You get to experience it twice a year instead of once.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on heading to Atlanta Motor Speedway: “It’s tough having two drafting races back-to-back just for the element of the unknown. I do have confidence though in that we’ll show up with a good car and have a good shot again as long as we’re there in the end. The difference between Atlanta and Daytona though is that handling plays a bigger factor this weekend than it did last. Qualifying is the only lap you get to try get a feel for what you have. We have a pretty good notebook for there, so hopefully we unload close and can fine tune for Sunday.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on Atlanta Motor Speedway: “Hendrick Motorsports had a strong showing last weekend (in the DAYTONA 500), which is really positive to see with the new Chevrolet body. Obviously, for our No. 48 Ally team, being in the wrong place at the wrong time ended our day early last weekend. With what we saw out of the car, we’re ready to get to Atlanta, another drafting track, and see what we can accomplish. We have shown speed there, had good runs in the past and we’ll look to continue building on that.”

Corey Day, driver of the No. 17 Chevrolet, on Atlanta Motor Speedway: “Atlanta will be tough, it’s a track I’ve never been to so, it’s all new to me, but I’m ready for it. Daytona was my first drafting track and I learned a lot but have a lot more to learn. Our team has been putting in the work on building fast race cars and I’m excited to see what we can do at a new track.”