Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Indianapolis

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 26
2.5-Mile Oval
2 p.m. ET
Location: Speedway, Indiana
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (Race 22 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 33 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Race: 15th (North Wilkesboro)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 6th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet

• Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team overcame pit road contact to finish 15th Sunday at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• So far in 2026, Larson’s average starting position of 9.14 ranks second.
• Larson has made two Brickyard 400 starts with Hendrick Motorsports, recording one victory (2024) and one runner-up showing (2025). His average finish of 1.5 is best since the race returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in 2024.
• The 33-year-old has won three of NASCAR’s four crown jewel races (Coca-Cola 600, Southern 500 and Brickyard 400). The only event missing from Larson’s résumé is the DAYTONA 500.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 30 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last Race: 17th (North Wilkesboro)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 5th

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

• This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Chase Elliott has a best finish of ninth (2019).
• Since the series returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in 2024, Elliott has the eighth-best average finish (11.5).
• Through 21 Cup races this season, Elliott has the fifth-best average finish (13.29). He has never fallen out of the top six in points, currently ranking fifth, 208 markers behind the leader. Elliott’s two wins this season are tied for third most.
• Elliott will run double duty at Indianapolis. In addition to Sunday’s Brickyard 400, the 30-year-old will climb behind the wheel of the No. 88 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet for JR Motorsports on Saturday for his second and final scheduled NASCAR O’Reilly Series start of the season. His best NOAPS finish at the track is fourth (2018).

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

No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet

• With five races left before The Chase, William Byron is currently 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, 84 points above the cut line.
• Among active drivers in the Cup Series, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has the seventh-most wins (16). He also has the third-most wins in the Next Gen era (14).
• The Brickyard 400 is one of four crown jewel races. Byron has two crown jewel wins (2024 and 2025 DAYTONA 500), tied for the fourth most among active drivers.
• Byron has five starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a track-best finish of fourth in 2019.

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 33 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Race: 26th (North Wilkesboro)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 29th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet

• Alex Bowman finished ninth in last year’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This marked his first top 10 on the oval track in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• So far in 2026, Bowman has earned three top fives and four top-10 finishes. Of his four top 10s, two have come in the last four races.

17 COREY DAY
Age: 20 (November 28, 2005)
Hometown: Clovis, California
Last Race: 32nd (Atlanta)
Crew Chief: Adam Wall
Standings: 4th

• The NASCAR O’Reilly Series returns to action this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Corey Day will make his first career start on the iconic 2.5-mile oval, driving the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
• Day enters Indianapolis with five top-10 finishes in his last eight NOAPS starts, including victories at Talladega Superspeedway and Dover Motor Speedway.

Hendrick Motorsports

*Most
**Tied for most

• The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this year’s Brickyard 400. Hendrick Motorsports has piled up more than twice as many wins as any other organization (11) in the crown jewel event and also leads in top fives (29), top 10s (46) and laps led (1,101).
• Hendrick Motorsports has won two of the last three events held on July 26 including the 2009 Brickyard 400, won by Jimmie Johnson. Current vice chairman Jeff Gordon was also victorious on the date back in 1998 at Pocono Raceway.
• The Hendrick Motorsports engine department enters the weekend with 575 victories across all three national NASCAR touring series, including 16 of 21 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 (1,342), top 10s (2,292), laps led (86,420) and championships (15).

QUOTABLE
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on the Brickyard 400: “I enjoy this race and the strategy behind it because it takes your whole team. Every weekend does, but it seems to matter even more here. Your race strategy has to be good. Good pit stops are important, along with having a good car, a good driver and making the right decisions. All of that matters. I enjoy that side of it and just being in Indianapolis is fun because I get to see some friends.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on what it would mean to win the Brickyard 400 and join his dad in being the first father-son duo to do so: “That was one of the very few races that I was old enough to even have a few memories from or even just be in the pictures of dad’s wins, which was really, really neat. Even then, I knew how big of a deal that was. It was evident in the way he acted and in the way that race was portrayed. Even as a child, you could tell the meaning behind it. So, I think for that reason, it always has carried a little more weight than some of the others. I would love to check that box for a lot of reasons, with that one being the number one. But I have never won a big crown jewel race. I’ve been close on a handful of occasions, but never gotten across that bridge, so it would be as good of a place, if not the best, to make that happen.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on the Brickyard 400: “We had such a good race going last year before we ran out of gas half a lap short. But that’s how it goes when you’re trying to win a race as special as the Brickyard 400. With how large [Indianapolis Motor Speedway] is, strategy plays a really big factor and unfortunately it didn’t work out last year. We have had fast cars there in the past though, and that’s what we can take into the weekend. With having a full practice Friday, it gives us a chance to tweak on the notebook we have and go from there.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on Indianapolis Motor Speedway: “The Indy oval has been a tough track for our Ally 48 group. We had a decent run there last year and we’re looking to trend in that direction this weekend. We’re continuing to put in work, and we’re focused on improving every week and getting the No. 48 Chevrolet the best finishes we can.”

Corey Day, driver of the No. 17 Chevrolet, on Indianapolis Motor Speedway: “Indianapolis is one of those places every driver wants to race at, so I’m excited to get there. Last year I raced across the street [at Indianapolis Raceway Park] and had a really good run in trucks, finished second, so I’m hoping Indianapolis Motor Speedway goes just as well. It’s another new track for me and I’m hoping we can unload with good speed and give the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM team a shot at being up front all weekend.”