Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Iowa

Iowa Speedway
Sunday, Aug. 9
0.875-Mile Oval
3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Newton, Iowa
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (Race 23 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 34 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Race: 39th (Indianapolis)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 8th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet

• Kyle Larson celebrated his 34th birthday on July 31 during the NASCAR off week.
• Larson has led 80 laps across two NASCAR Cup Series events at Iowa Speedway, the fourth most at the 0.875-mile track.
• He has five career short track victories, which ranks fourth all-time among Hendrick Motorsports drivers. Four of those victories have come in the Next Gen car.
• The Elk Grove, California, native is just one lap shy of eclipsing 11,000 career laps led, he would become just the 20th driver in Cup Series history to reach the milestone.
• The defending champion leads all drivers in laps led on short tracks during the Next Gen era, with 1,839.
• Larson has finished in the top 10 in 14 of the last 18 short track races

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 30 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last Race: 37th (Indianapolis)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 6th

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

• This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Iowa Speedway, where Chase Elliott has a best finish of third (2024).
• In the Next Gen era on short tracks, Elliott has one win (Martinsville Speedway 2026) and has led the seventh-most laps (675).
• This season on short tracks, the 30-year-old driver has earned the seventh-most points (94) and led the fifth-most laps (90).
• Elliott has the fourth-best average running position (8.2), the sixth-best average finish (8.5) and fifth-most points earned (70) across the first two Cup Series races at Iowa.
• With just four races remaining until The Chase, Elliott is three points out of fifth place in the standings. The 2020 Cup Series champion has remained in the top six throughout the entire season thus far.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 28 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Race: 21st (Indianapolis)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 12th

No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet

• Among the four remaining tracks in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season (Iowa Speedway, Richmond Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway), William Byron has four combined victories to lead Hendrick Motorsports.
• Three of Byron’s last four victories have come on short tracks (Martinsville Speedway in 2024 and 2025, Iowa in 2025). He is the only repeat winner on that style track in the last 10 events and has earned the fourth-most points (280) in the last eight short track events.
• In the Next Gen era, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has the second-most wins (four) on short tracks and has led the fourth-most laps (1,041).
• Over his NASCAR career, Byron has five starts across the top three series at Iowa. He has one victory in each the Cup, O’Reilly and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, and is the defending Cup winner. He is one of only two drivers to win at Iowa in each series and also finish top five in both Cup races.
• Byron enters the weekend with an average starting position of third, an average running position of 5.6, and an average finish of 1.5 at Iowa. He’s scored the second-most points (90) and led the second-most laps (141) at the 0.875-mile oval.

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 33 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Race: 19th (Indianapolis)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 29th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet

• So far in 2026, Alex Bowman has earned three top fives and four top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Bowman is one of five drivers to finish inside the top 10 in both races at Iowa Speedway and has an average finish of 7.5 at the track.
• Bowman finished eighth in the inaugural Cup race at Iowa (2024) after starting 33rd.
• The 33-year-old has an average running position of 13th at Iowa, ranking him eighth best in the series. Additionally, Bowman has earned a total of 63 points at the track, seventh most.

17 COREY DAY
Age: 20 (November 28, 2005)
Hometown: Clovis, California
Last Race: 7th (Indianapolis)
Crew Chief: Adam Wall
Standings: 5th

• Corey Day returns to the track after a seventh-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he earned his 15th top 10 of the NASCAR O’Reilly Series season. With the result, he clinched a spot in The Chase.
• The 20-year-old driver enters the weekend fifth in the series standings with two wins, one pole and six top-five finishes through the opening 22 races of the 2026 season.
• The Clovis, California, native returns to Iowa Speedway for his second NOAPS start at the 0.875-mile oval.
• Following Saturday’s NOAPS race at Iowa Speedway, Day will head to nearby Knoxville Raceway to compete in a sprint car event as part of the 360 Knoxville Nationals, the first of several dirt races on his schedule in August.

Hendrick Motorsports

*Most
**Tied for most

• The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Iowa Speedway this weekend. Over the course of the series’ first two events at the 0.875-mile oval, Hendrick Motorsports’ one win and one pole are tied for the most while its three top fives and five top 10s are tops among all teams.
• Hendrick Motorsports drivers have combined to win four of the last eight Cup Series races on short tracks (William Byron two, Chase Elliott one, Kyle Larson one). The organization has also won two of the last six races immediately after an off week.
• The Hendrick Motorsports engine department enters the weekend with 576 victories across all three national NASCAR touring series, including 17 of 22 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 getting closer to a win: “I feel like we’ve been inching closer and closer all year. A lot of times, I feel like our sport is so close that you can feel so far from winning and so far from being good, when in reality, I think you’re much closer than you feel. So, yeah, you never know. Maybe if you get a win and your car gets a little bit better, you can go on a string. We still have some room to improve, but hopefully we’re not too far away from it.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on racing at Iowa Speedway: “I’m looking forward to it. I thought there were moments of hope for us the last couple years out there. Certainly, William (Byron) was really good. I think he’s had some really fast races. So, I’m excited to get out there and see what we’ve got.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on returning to Iowa Speedway: “Iowa [Speedway] is just a track that has always clicked for me and that I really love. I’ve had success there in all three series and last year’s win really felt great to complete the sweep. I think having the off time, and this being the next track we go to, really gives our team confidence of what we can accomplish. I’m looking forward to it.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on Iowa Speedway: “We’re ready to head back to the track after some much needed time off to recharge with friends. Iowa [Speedway] is a good track to be headed to; it has been a good one for our Ally 48 team. Track position is important and it’s a track where you have to be smart and aggressive which makes it challenging but a lot of fun to drive.”

Corey Day, driver of the No. 17 Chevrolet, on Iowa Speedway: “Last year at Iowa [Speedway] was my first time there, and honestly, it was a tough weekend for me. Since then, I’ve gained a lot more pavement experience and have spent a lot more time behind the wheel of the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet, so I’m looking forward to going back and seeing what we can do. I feel like I’ve learned a lot this year and I’m hoping we can show some speed and put ourselves in a position to run up front. I’m also looking forward to getting back to a lot of dirt racing throughout August. That always helps me reset and get comfortable again, and I think it carries over when I come back to the pavement.”