Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Sonoma

Sonoma Raceway
Sunday, June 28
1.99-Mile Road Course
3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Sonoma, California
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (Race 18 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 33 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Race: 3rd (Naval Base Coronado)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 4th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet

• Last weekend in the inaugural Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team earned a third-place finish. It was the team’s third consecutive top five, marking the longest active top-five streak in the NASCAR Cup Series and Larson’s longest such streak in more than a year (four consecutive races in the spring of 2025).
• This weekend, the Elk Grove, California, native returns to Sonoma Raceway, his home track, where he is a two-time winner on the 1.99-mile road course.
• Larson (two) is one of only two repeat winners in the last 16 Cup Series races at Sonoma (Martin Truex Jr., four).
• Larson has accumulated a series-leading 150 stage points through the first 17 races of the 2026 season. Those points have helped propel the team to fourth in the Cup Series points standings.
• Sonoma Raceway marks the opening event of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge. As the No. 6 seed, Larson will face No. 27 seed Riley Herbst in the first round. Through the first 17 races of the 2026 season, Larson has finished ahead of Herbst 13 times, including all three road course events

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 30 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last Race: 12th (Naval Base Coronado)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 6th

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

• This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Sonoma Raceway, where Chase Elliott has the longest active streak of top fives (three) and top 10s (five).
• In the Next Gen era at Sonoma, the 30-year-old has the second-best average finish (fifth). Also, among those with five or more starts at Sonoma, he has the best career average finish (10.2) among active drivers and ranks fourth all time.
• Elliott’s seven wins on road courses are tied for the most among active drivers and rank third all time behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight). His 489 laps led on serpentine tracks tops his current competitors and ranks seventh all time.
• In the Next Gen Era on road courses, Elliott is tied for the most top-five finishes (11) and is tied for the fourth-most top 10s (15). His laps led (147) in that span rank fourth and his average finish ranks fifth (10.92).
• Heading into the first round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge this weekend at Sonoma, fourth-seeded Elliott is up against Noah Gragson. Elliott has finished ahead of Gragson 14 times in 17 events this year.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 28 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Race: 32nd (Naval Base Coronado)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 13th

No. 24 Axalta Solar Boost Chevrolet

• In the last 16 NASCAR Cup Series road course races, William Byron has two wins (one each at Circuit of The Americas and Watkins Glen International), six top-five finishes and nine top 10s.
• The Charlotte, North Carolina, native’s two road course victories are the fifth most by a Hendrick Motorsports driver.
• In the Next Gen era on road courses, he has led the sixth-most laps (139) with an average finish of 14.85.
• With seven starts at Sonoma Raceway, Byron has two top-10 finishes with a track-best finish of eighth last year.
• This weekend marks the first race of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge which will see one driver winning $1 million after a 32-team, single-elimination tournament is played out over the next five weeks. Byron is the 11th seed and will be up against Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with the better finisher at Sonoma moving on. Byron has two top-10 finishes at Sonoma compared to Stenhouse’s track best-finish of 12th.

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 33 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Race: 26th (Naval Base Coronado)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 32nd

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet

• In the Next Gen era, Alex Bowman is among 13 drivers that have earned at least one road course win in the NASCAR Cup Series. His victory came at the Chicago Street Course in 2023 after leading the last eight laps.
• In the last 26 road course races, the 33-year-old has earned six top-five finishes and nine top 10s.
• At Sonoma Raceway, Bowman has earned two top-10 finishes (2018 and 2021) with a best showing of ninth.
• In Round 1 of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge at Sonoma, Bowman will go head-to-head with top-seeded Tyler Reddick. The highest finisher of the two will advance into Round 2 at Chicagoland Speedway.

17 COREY DAY
Age: 20 (November 28, 2005)
Hometown: Clovis, California
Last Race: 10th (Naval Base Coronado)
Crew Chief: Adam Wall
Standings: 3rd

Corey Day left Naval Base Coronado with another top-10 finish last Saturday after overcoming significant adversity throughout the event. Following extensive repairs to the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet after an incident in practice, Day started 31st and continued to face challenges during the race, including damage caused by a loose manhole cover shortly after the green flag. NASCAR allowed the team to make repairs and restored four laps, enabling Day to return to the lead lap. Despite the setbacks, Day rallied to finish 10th, securing his 13th top-10 result of the season.
The Clovis, California, native returns to his home track for his second NASCAR O’Reilly Series start on the 1.99-mile road course at Sonoma Raceway.
The 20-year-old made his Sonoma debut last July, starting 14th with Greg Ives as crew chief.
In five starts on road courses throughout his NOAPS career, Day has recorded two top-10 finishes.

Hendrick Motorsports
 

*Most
**Tied for most

• Hendrick Motorsports has the all-time lead in NASCAR Cup Series poles (27), wins (31), top fives (105), top 10s (175) and laps led (2,473) on road courses. The organization also leads in those same categories at Sonoma Raceway with 10 poles, eight victories, 37 top fives, 65 top 10s and 833 laps led while additionally owning the most stage wins with five.
• Three Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won five of the last 16 road course races: Kyle Larson (two), William Byron (two), Alex Bowman (one).
• At least two of the team’s drivers have finished in the top 10 in each of the last five Sonoma races, the longest active streak in the series.
• The Hendrick Motorsports engine department enters the weekend with 573 victories across all three national NASCAR touring series, including 14 of 18 events in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series this season.
• Hendrick Motorsports remains the Cup Series’ all-time standard bearer in wins (322), poles (259), top-five finishes (1,339), top 10s (2,288), laps led (86,291) and championships (15).

QUOTABLE
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on Sonoma Raceway: “I like Sonoma. It’s my home race, so I’ll have some friends and family there, but beyond that, Napa Valley is just an awesome area. Sonoma is one of those road courses with fewer turns, and I feel like I perform better on those types of tracks. It has a nice flow to it and offers a lot of grip, which I enjoy. Overall, I’m looking forward to being back in my home area.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on racing at Sonoma Raceway: “Last year, I felt like we had a strong race going in Sonoma, but didn’t quite have what we needed at the end. Still managed to get a solid result. After last weekend (San Diego), it would be nice to just get to Sonoma, have a solid qualifying effort and just put a whole race together. We haven’t had much luck on road courses this season, but Sonoma is a place I really enjoy once I can get into a good rhythm, so I’m hoping we can get back on track with a good run this weekend.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on taking speed from Naval Base Coronado to Sonoma Raceway: “Last weekend at San Diego (Street Course) was promising. We had speed and made improvements to the car through the full weekend. We definitely were moving through the field Sunday. I just misjudged the wall in turn six and ended up causing suspension damage. The No. 24 team worked hard though to make repairs so we could finish, but we were having a strong day and really learned a lot. I think we’ll be able to transfer some of that over to this weekend at Sonoma Raceway.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on Sonoma Raceway: “Sonoma has been a tough track for us in the past. Track position is huge here so it’ll be important to qualify well and execute our race to stay in it.”

Corey Day, driver of the No. 17 Chevrolet, on an eventful race in San Diego and preparing for Sonoma Raceway: “This past weekend was an unbelievable experience with my No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM team. We battled through so much adversity. From [running over a] manhole cover, to a bad pit stop, to getting spun out – it was just incredible the way everyone rallied to get us to the end and I’m super happy to have added another top 10 to the season. I’m excited for Sonoma, I’ve gotten laps there before and of course, it being my home track is really cool. Looking forward to seeing what my guys and I can do there.”