Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Kansas

Kansas Speedway
Sunday, April 19
1.5-Mile Tri-Oval
2 p.m. ET
Location: Kansas City, Kansas
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series race (9 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 33 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Race: 3rd (Bristol)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 6th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet

• Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team scored two stage wins and led 284 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway en route to a third-place finish last week. With the result, the team moved up four spots in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings to sixth.
• The No. 5 squad has scored the second-most stage points through eight races with 72.
• The 33-year-old returns to Kansas Speedway as the back-to-back spring race winner. Larson is the only repeat winner in the last 11 races at the speedway.
• The defending Cup champion led 221 laps last May at Kansas, the most laps led by any driver in a 400-mile race on a 1.5-mile track in Cup Series history.
• Larson’s 10 wins on 1.5-mile tracks rank fifth among active drivers. All 10 have come in his 37 starts at such facilities with Hendrick Motorsports (27% win rate).
• Since joining Hendrick Motorsports, Larson ranks first in the Cup Series at Kansas in wins (three), laps led (761) average start (6.6) and average finish (seventh). He also ranks second in top-five finishes (six) and top 10s (eight).

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 30 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last Race: 22nd (Bristol)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 5th

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

• Chase Elliott heads to Kansas Speedway as the most recent NASCAR Cup Series winner at the track. He made a last-lap pass in the fall to secure his second victory on the 1.5-mile tri-oval.
• Elliott’s 13 top-10 finishes at Kansas are his second most at active tracks behind Martinsville Speedway (15).
• His average finish of 9.9 at Kansas is best all-time among Cup drivers with six or more starts.
• Since 2021, the 30-year-old driver has led the fourth-most laps at Kansas (157).
• This season, Elliott has an average finish of 10.6, which is his best through eight races since 2017 and ranks fifth in the series.
• In his last 14 starts on 1.5-mile tracks, Elliott has nine top-10 finishes.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 28 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Race: 30th (Bristol)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 7th

No. 24 All-Pro Chevrolet

• Through eight races in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron has the seventh-best average finish at 13.25.
• In the Next Gen era on 1.5-mile tracks, the 28-year-old has the best average finish of all drivers of 9.59.
• Since 2023, Byron has 22 starts on 1.5-mile tracks with two wins and the best average finish of 8.5. He also has the most top-five finishes (five), is tied for the most top 10s (16), has the second-most stage wins (10) and the second-most laps led (795).
• At Kansas Speedway, Byron has 16 starts with three top-five finishes and nine top 10s with his track-best finish of second coming in the fall of 2024. Since 2021, Byron has led the fifth-most laps at Kansas (125).
• Byron will be pulling double duty at Kansas, returning to the NASCAR O’Reilly Series in the No. 88 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 32 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Race: 37th (Bristol)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 36th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet

• Alex Bowman is set to make his 21st Kansas Speedway start in the NASCAR Cup Series this Sunday.
• At Kansas, Bowman has an average finish of 14.9, his second best at any oval. The Tucson, Arizona, native has led 191 laps and earned four top-five finishes including a runner-up showing in 2019.
• In his last seven starts at Kansas, the driver of the No. 48 has finished in the top 10 in six races. Additionally, he has scored two stage wins, one in 2022 and one in 2024.
• Bowman has earned nine top-10 finishes in his last 12 events on 1.5-mile tracks.
• Alex Bowman and the No. 48 team are eligible for the 2026 NASCAR All-Star Race Fan Vote with the winning driver earning entry into the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway on May 17. Fans can vote up to five times per day per unique email address until 9 a.m. ET on race day.

17 COREY DAY
Age: 20 (November 28, 2005)
Hometown: Clovis, California
Last Race: 8th (Bristol)
Crew Chief: Adam Wall
Standings: 4th

• Corey Day continues to hold the longest active top-10 streak (eight) in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series after leaving Bristol Motor Speedway with an eighth-place finish last week.
• The 20-year-old gained another position in the NOAPS standings and now ranks fourth.
• The Clovis, California, native heads to Kansas Speedway to make his NOAPS debut at the track. In 2024, Day competed at the 1.5-mile tri-oval in the No. 82 HENDRICKCARS.COM ARCA car, his third career ARCA start, earning a fourth-place finish. He also made a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at Kansas in the fall of 2024.
• In his most recent race at a 1.5-mile track (Las Vegas Motor Speedway), Day led nine laps, the first of his NOAPS career. He went on to finish eighth.

Hendrick Motorsports

 
*Most
**Tied for most

• Hendrick Motorsports enters this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway as the facility’s all-time leader in wins (11), top fives (50), top 10s (93) and laps led (2,487). The team is also tied for the track record in poles with seven.
• The organization has won three of the last four Cup Series events at the 1.5-mile tri-oval and has placed at least one car in the top two in seven of the last nine. At least two of Rick Hendrick’s Chevrolets have come home in the top 10 in the last 15 races in the Sunflower State, the longest such streak ever.
• The Hendrick Motorsports engine department enters the weekend with 563 victories across all three national NASCAR touring series including seven of the last nine events in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series.
• Hendrick Motorsports remains the premier series’ all-time standard bearer in wins (321), poles (259), top-five finishes (1,329), top 10s (2,273), laps led (85,931) and championships (15).

QUOTABLE
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on Kansas Speedway: “Kansas [Speedway] is a lot of fun – it’s really fast. You’re always trying to carry a lot of speed and momentum off the corners and run big arcs into the entry. There are two different ends of the racetrack, but I feel like you approach the corners in a similar way.
“In the race, you settle into a comfortable pace and balance and try to run as close to the wall as possible without hitting it. It’s a fun place. It can be challenging, but it’s good because you have options to move around.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on Kansas Speedway: “It has really been a great track and has suited this newer generation car. The line has definitely transitioned up the racetrack, especially on the warmer days, and that can bring its challenges. It’s been a fun place. I’ve enjoyed going to Kansas even in the older generation cars. I look forward to every trip, and hopefully we can go out there and have a couple good runs this season.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on Kansas Speedway: “We have a good mile-and-a-half program. Even with the changes to the car, we were strong in Las Vegas earlier this season. Kansas [Speedway] has been a bit harder for us getting the results we should get based on how the races go, but I’m confident still because we usually always have the speed. We just need a solid day and to put ourselves in contention at the end.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on returning to Kansas Speedway: “Kansas [Speedway] is one of my favorite tracks and one I always look forward to. It’s no secret it’s been a tough start to the season for our No. 48 team. With that, it’s hard to say that we could go win, but we are typically so good that we really could. We’ve got a lot of work to do but Kansas is a good place for us to get things turned around.”

Corey Day, driver of the No. 17 Chevrolet, on Kansas Speedway: “Kansas should be a really great track for us. I’ve been there a couple of times before, but excited to get out there in a NASCAR O’Reilly Series car. The 1.5-mile tracks have gone well for me so far, so I know we’ll have a fast Chevrolet on track like we did [at Las Vegas Motor Speedway]. Hoping to get out front and lead some more laps like I did there. It’ll be a fun weekend for me and the No. 17 guys for sure.”