Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Bristol

Bristol Motor Speedway
Saturday, Sept. 19
0.533-Mile Oval
7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Bristol, Tennessee
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (Race 29 of 36)
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 34 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Race: 1st (WWT Raceway)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 2nd

 No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet  

• Last weekend at WWT Raceway, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team snapped a 51-race winless streak by capturing the checkered flag. With the victory, Larson jumped five spots in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase standings and is now second, nine points behind the leader.
• The defending Cup champion leads all drivers in points earned through the first two Chase races. He is the only driver to finish inside the top five in both.
• When Larson reached 2,000 laps led at Bristol Motor Speedway in April, he became the 14th driver to lead more than 2,000 laps at a single track. He has led the most laps in four of the last eight Bristol races and won three of those four. His 2,046 laps led at the half-mile track rank ninth all time.
• The Elk Grove, California, native has an average finish of seventh at Bristol in the Next Gen era, best among drivers with multiple starts at the track.
• This weekend marks the 200th Cup race for Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels working together. The duo has totaled 26 victories, 13 poles, 86 top-five finishes, 115 top-10 finishes and two championships (2021 and 2025)  

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 30 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last Race: 31st (WWT Raceway)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 11th

No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet  

• Chase Elliott heads to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend 11th in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase standings, 93 points behind the leader.
• According to Racing Insights, the No. 9 pit crew ranks second in the field across the first two races of The Chase.
• Of the eight tracks remaining in The Chase, Elliott has won on five of them a combined eight times.
• Elliott’s 450 laps led in points-paying Cup races at Bristol are his most without a win. He earned an All-Star Race victory at the track in 2020.
• The 30-year-old’s best finish at Bristol is second (September 2022 and September 2024). He has four finishes of eighth or better in the last seven races at the Tennessee short track.
• One of Elliott’s two victories this season came on a short track. He led 84 laps en route to a win at Martinsville Speedway.
• Including the Martinsville triumph, Elliott has three top-five finishes in the last six short track races.  

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 28 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Race: 4th (WWT Raceway)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 15th

 No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet  

• Despite being involved in an incident during Sunday’s race at WWT Raceway, William Byron and the No. 24 team rallied to score a fourth-place result. With the top-five finish, Byron moved up to 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase standings, 114 points behind the leader.
• In the Next Gen era on short tracks, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native is tied for the second-most wins (four) with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson.
• In the last nine short track races, Byron has two wins and three top-five finishes. He is currently on a streak of two consecutive top-10 finishes at this type of venue.
• With 14 Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Byron has two top-five finishes and five top 10s with a track-best finish of third twice (fall of 2021 and 2022).  

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 33 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Race: 2nd (WWT Raceway)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 27th

 No. 48 Ally Chevrolet  

• Alex Bowman earned his best finish of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season last weekend at WWT Raceway, finishing runner-up to teammate Kyle Larson in Sunday’s race.
• Bowman has finished in the top 15 in each of the last five races, including one top five and three top 10s.
• At Bristol Motor Speedway, Bowman has earned the pole award for two out of the last four races.
• The 33-year-old has two wins on short tracks (Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway in 2021), sixth most among active drivers.  

17 COREY DAY
Age: 20 (November 28, 2005)
Hometown: Clovis, California
Last Race: 33rd (WWT Raceway)
Crew Chief: Adam Wall
Standings: 8th

•  Hendrick Motorsports announced a long-term contract extension for No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet driver Corey Day last week. Day will compete full time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series next season and run a limited NASCAR Cup Series schedule with affiliate team Spire Motorsports.
• The Clovis, California, native enters Friday night’s race eighth in The NOAPS Chase standings, 69 points behind the leader with seven races remaining.
• Day returns to Bristol Motor Speedway for his third NOAPS start at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”.
• In two NOAPS starts at Bristol, Day has an average finish of 12.5, finishing 17th in his first start before posting an eighth-place finish in his most recent visit this past spring.
• The 20-year-old driver has made seven NOAPS starts at short tracks, earning one top five, two top 10s and leading 37 laps. Day recorded his best finish at Martinsville Speedway this spring, earning his first runner-up finish in the series.

Hendrick Motorsports  

*Most
**Tied for most

• The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for the third race of The Chase. Hendrick Motorsports has racked up 14 wins and 14 poles at the 0.533-mile short track and is the all-time leader in top fives (73) and top 10s (128).
• Among the 10 tracks in The Chase, and counting last week’s win at WWT Raceway for Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports has piled up 136 victories including 21 in the Next Gen era. The organization leads the field in postseason wins (63) and has won at least one race in The Chase/Playoffs in 23 of 24 seasons. That includes multiple victories in each of the last six years heading into 2026.
• The Hendrick Motorsports engine department enters the weekend with 580 victories across all three national NASCAR touring series including 20 of 26 events in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series this season.
• Hendrick Motorsports remains the Cup Series’ all-time standard bearer in wins (323), poles (259), top-five finishes (1,348), top 10s (2,303), laps led (86,699) and championships (15).
• The team enters this weekend’s race at Bristol having won four of the last 10 short track races in the Cup Series.  

QUOTABLE
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on Bristol Motor Speedway: “I think [Bristol Motor Speedway] is one of [Hendrick Motorsports’] better racetracks. I feel like, as a team, we have a good car for that track, and I think I understand the race craft it takes to be fast and efficient through traffic. But it all takes execution from everybody, so it’s a tough place to pass. Hopefully, it goes like it typically does, where you qualify well, are up front and score good points there.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on Bristol Motor Speedway: “I like going up there because it’s fun. It’s a fun track. I think the Bristol Night Race is just, for me, it’s one of those just iconic events, really, in the country that I think everybody should go see. Just the place and how it comes alive for a NASCAR race in the fall is really special.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on battling to a top-five finish at WWT Raceway last week: “Last weekend is exactly what I knew we were capable of. There’s no quit in the No. 24 team and that fourth-place finish showed that. We’re not out of this thing and the plan doesn’t change. Put in the work during the week, unload and execute – there’s eight races left and there’s still time. Anything can happen.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on riding momentum into Bristol Motor Speedway: “Bristol [Motor Speedway] has been a good track for our Ally 48 team. We’ve been putting together a good stretch of races lately; we’ll continue building on that momentum and working hard for these results to close on the season on a high note.

Corey Day, driver of the No. 17 Chevrolet, on Bristol Motor Speedway: “We’re heading into Bristol [Motor Speedway] a little farther back in the points than we’d like after a tough race at WWT Raceway, so we’re in a bit of a hole right now that we’ll have to work our way out of. It’s going to come down to consistently executing and putting ourselves in position, and we really need a win. I like Bristol because it reminds me a lot of a dirt track with how much you can move around and slide the car, along with the speed you can carry. I’m looking forward to getting back in the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet and hopefully having a really strong night.”