Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: New Hampshire

New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sunday, Aug. 23
1.058-Mile Oval
3 p.m. ET
Location: Loudon, New Hampshire
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (Race 25 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 34 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Race: 6th (Richmond)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 8th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet  

• After starting 30th last weekend at Richmond Raceway, Kyle Larson drove to a sixth-place finish. Immediately following the race, Larson made his way to Knoxville, Iowa, to compete in the 65th Knoxville Nationals, where he won his fourth title and his fourth consecutive sprint car race.
• Larson has earned the most points at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Next Gen era with 161.
• The defending champion has the most runner-up finishes at the 1.058-oval without a win (three). The track ranks first for Larson in terms of the most second-place finishes without a victory.
• The 34-year-old has three consecutive top-10 finishes at New Hampshire, tying him for the longest active streak among NASCAR Cup Series drivers.  

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 30 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last Race: 5th (Richmond)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 6th

No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet  

• With his fifth-place finish at Richmond Raceway last weekend, Chase Elliott improved to sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings and clinched a spot in The Chase. He’s currently just 20 points behind fifth.
• This weekend, the Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway where Elliott has a best finish of second (2022).
• The 30-year-old driver has earned the fourth-most points (140) in the Next Gen era at New Hampshire.
• In Elliott’s last six Cup Series starts at the 1.058-mile facility, he’s had two top-five finishes, three top 10s and has led 119 laps.  

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 28 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Race: 9th (Richmond)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 12th

No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet  

• William Byron followed up his ninth-place run at Iowa Speedway with another at Richmond Raceway after qualifying fifth.
• For the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Byron’s No. 24 pit crew ranks first overall in the series according to Racing Insights’ metrics.
• In the Next Gen era at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Byron has the second-best average starting position (5.25) of drivers who have competed in all four events.
• Overall, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has eight Cup Series starts at New Hampshire with his best race coming last year when he qualified fifth and finished third.
• However, Byron also has a win at New Hampshire with crew chief Rudy Fugle. In 2016, he won the pole for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and led 161 laps en route to the victory.  

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 33 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Race: 10th (Richmond)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 29th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet  

• In a momentum-building day, Alex Bowman earned his fifth top-10 finish of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season last weekend at Richmond Raceway.
• At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bowman’s best finish of ninth was secured in 2021. His best starting position at the track is fifth in both 2021 and 2024.
• Bowman and the No. 48 Ally team have strung together back-to-back top-seven qualifying efforts at the Magic Mile, rolling off fifth in 2024 and seventh last season.  

17 COREY DAY
Age: 20 (November 28, 2005)
Hometown: Clovis, California
Last Race: 36th (Iowa)
Crew Chief: Adam Wall
Standings: 5th

• Corey Day currently sits fifth in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series points standings and has clinched a spot in The Chase. Through 25 starts, Day has earned two wins, six top-five finishes and 15 top 10s, tied for second in the series for most top 10s this season.
• NOAPS will take a second straight off week before returning under the lights on Friday, Aug. 28, at Daytona International Speedway for the final race before The Chase.  

Hendrick Motorsports  

*Most
**Tied for most

• The NASCAR Cup Series returns to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. Hendrick Motorsports has piled up nine wins, seven poles, 48 top-five finishes, 86 top 10s and has led 2,699 laps in 54 races in the Granite State. Last year, the organization put three of its cars in the top 10 and all four in the top 15.
• The Hendrick Motorsports engine department enters the weekend with 577 victories across all three national NASCAR touring series, including 18 of 23 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 (1,343), top 10s (2,297), laps led (86,440) and championships (15).  

QUOTABLE
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “[New Hampshire Motor Speedway] is unique in the fact that its shape gives you two actual straightaways, whereas a lot of the short tracks we go to have more curved straightaways. Historically, it hasn’t been a great track for our race team, but we’ve had some decent finishes there and have fought hard to get better results over the last few years. Hopefully, we can take some things from the last couple of weeks and put together a good car for New Hampshire.’

“The crowd is always great at New Hampshire. It’s only one race a year in that region, but they’re huge race fans, and they always bring the energy. It’s cool to be there and be a part of it, and there’s always some good racing going on. It’s a cool place, and I definitely enjoy going there.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “There’s always been a lot of electricity up there [at New Hampshire Motor Speedway] and a lot of energy and excitement to have us, and we feel that. I think anytime you go somewhere and you feel that genuine excitement that they’re happy to have us there, it definitely radiates inside the garage, and I’ve enjoyed that over the years, especially going from two races up there to one, I think you felt that more, which made it kind of cool.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on heading to New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “Last week’s race [at Richmond Raceway] really felt good. For a track that we don’t have the best notebook at, to grind all day in the top 10 basically, shows the work this team has put in. This weekend at New Hampshire [Motor Speedway] will be no different. It’s a track that we’ve struggled at in the Cup Series, and I’m not really sure why. But last year, we definitely made some progress, so hopefully that combines with what we’ve been learning this year, and we have another solid day.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “Headed to New Hampshire [Motor Speedway], we’re looking to build on the momentum from Richmond [Raceway]. Feels good to have a good week like we did with our Ally 48 team, but we need to keep building and getting those results. We’ve qualified well the last couple years there so we’re looking to do that again and focus on execution.”