Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021
2.5-Mile Oval
7:00 PM ET
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR Cup Series (26 of 36)
Radio: SiriusXM, PRN
5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 29 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 1st
No. 5 Valvoline Instant Oil Change Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
ONE DOZEN: Last Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, Kyle Larson led a race-high 70 laps and finished third in the 400-mile event – his 12th top-three finish of 2021. The driver of the No. 5 Valvoline Instant Oil Change Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE has a series-high five NASCAR Cup Series victories this season with wins at Watkins Glen International, Nashville Superspeedway, Sonoma Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In June, Larson scored a $1 million payday in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway.
TOO TOUGH TO TAME SINCE DARLINGTON: Larson has finished top three in 10 of the last 14 races dating back to Darlington Raceway in May. Over that span, the 29-year-old driver has four wins, four runner-up finishes and two third-place results to move from 144 markers down in the point standings to a 28-point advantage.
FINALE NIGHT: Following Saturday night’s event at the historic Daytona International Speedway, playoff points will be awarded to the top 10 drivers in the standings with 15 markers awarded to first place, 10 to second, eight to third, seven to fourth, and so on. Larson is currently atop the standings heading into the Aug. 28 race.
FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: The last time the Cup Series competed on Aug. 28 was in 2016 at Michigan International Speedway and Larson was victorious with Chase Elliott second. In 2021, the duo, who are now Hendrick Motorsports teammates, have finished first and second in four races.
OH SO CLOSE: In 2017, Larson led the field with one lap to go in the DAYTONA 500. However, his Chevrolet ran out of fuel on the final lap and he coasted to a 12th-place finish. In 14 starts at the 2.5-mile track, Larson has five top-10 finishes, including a 10th-place result in this year’s DAYTONA 500.
WINNER AT DAYTONA: In July 2018, Larson won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. The Elk Grove, California, native led a race-high 40 laps en route to victory.
FIVE-STAR: Through 25 of 36 Cup Series races, Larson leads the series in wins (career-best five), top-five finishes (14), top-10s (18), stage wins (12), playoff points (37), and laps led (career-best 1,566). In fact, he has paced the field 752 more times than any competitor this season and his stage wins are the most by seven.
QUICK STOP: At 13.69 seconds, the No. 5 pit crew owns the quickest average time for four-tire pit stops in 2021. The over-the-wall crew is comprised of gasman Brandon Harder, jackman Brandon Johnson, tire carrier R.J. Barnette and tire changers Donnie Tasser (front) and Calvin Teague (rear).
VALVOLINE VICTORY: In June at Nashville Superspeedway, Larson led 264 of 300 laps en route to victory driving the No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Valvoline will make its second of three appearances as the primary sponsor of the No. 5 entry this Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV) is a leading worldwide marketer and supplier of premium branded lubricants and automotive services, with sales in more than 140 countries. Established in 1866, the Company’s heritage spans more than 150 years, during which time it has developed powerful brand recognition across multiple product and service channels. Valvoline ranks as the No. 3 passenger car motor oil brand in the DIY market by volume. To learn more, visit www.valvoline.com.
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 25 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 5th
No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
REGULAR SEASON WRAP: Through the first 25 races of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Chase Elliott has recorded some noteworthy stats and career highs. His wins at Circuit of The Americas and Road America secured his spot in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year and he has collected two stage wins, 11 top-five finishes, 15 top-10s and 301 laps led in 25 races. Elliott is currently projected to be fourth in the playoff standings as the series heads into Saturday night’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
BRINGING OUT THE BEST: Through 25 races in the Cup Series season, Elliott has delivered career bests in runner-up results (five), top-five finishes (11), top-10s (15) and his average finish (11.16). His two wins are tied for a personal best through 25 races. Elliott has spent 2,032 laps inside the top five and 3,602 laps running in the top 10.
UNIFIRST IS BACK: On Saturday, UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF), a North American leader in providing customized work uniform programs, corporate attire and facility service products, will serve as the primary sponsor on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. This will be the final race (Phoenix Raceway, Kansas Speedway and Daytona) that UniFirst will be the primary partner and have its newly revamped green corporate logo adorning the No. 9 Chevrolet. In 2016, Unifirst and Hendrick Motorsports announced an eight-year partnership. UniFirst will continue to serve as the Official Workwear Provider of Hendrick Motorsports, supplying work clothing and uniforms to the team and sister company Hendrick Automotive Group, the largest privately held retail automotive organization in the United States.
STREAKING INTO DAYTONA: Elliott currently has the second longest active top-five streak at Daytona International Speedway (two), behind only Denny Hamlin, who has three consecutive top-five results. He also currently holds the second longest active top-10 finish streak this season (three) behind teammate Kyle Larson (four).
SUPERSPEEDWAY STATS: Elliott will make his 23rd superspeedway start in the Cup Series on Saturday at Daytona. In the driver of the No. 9’s previous 22 races, he has started on the front row seven times, including five from the pole position. Elliott has garnered six top-five finishes, seven top-10s and led 263 laps. In April 2019, Elliott earned his first superspeedway victory at Talladega Superspeedway. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet also has two Duel qualifying race wins at Daytona (2017 and 2018) and was in position to win the 2017 DAYTONA 500 before running out of fuel from the lead on lap 198 of 200. Elliott has also made 12 superspeedway starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, winning the Daytona season opener in 2016.
FLORIDA NATIVE: On Saturday, No. 9 crew chief Alan Gustafson will return home to the “Birthplace of Speed.” He hails from Ormond Beach, Florida, just down the road from Daytona International Speedway. After graduating from Seabreeze High School, he enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to study mechanical engineering. Gustafson returns to Daytona in his 17th full-time season as a crew chief and his sixth year with Elliott.
GUSTAFSON AT DAYTONA: Gustafson would like to add a Daytona oval win to his name. Last August, he captured his first points win at the DAYTONA Road Course. The 46-year-old crew chief has collected two Duel qualifying race wins (2017 and 2018) at the track with Elliott. He has four runner-up finishes on the 2.5-mile oval with drivers Elliott (2020 and 2021) and Kyle Busch (2006 and 2007). The 2007 result with Busch and winner Jamie McMurray remains the closest margin of victory ever in the summer race at Daytona (0.005 seconds). Gustafson also has won the pole award at Daytona five times with three drivers: Elliott (three), Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin. He is tied with Leonard Wood and Waddell Wilson for the most DAYTONA 500 pole awards for a crew chief with four.
‘CHASE’: On Wednesday, NBC’s Peacock released a new documentary titled “CHASE” showcasing Elliott. The one-hour show takes viewers to the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion’s hometown of Dawsonville, Georgia, for a personal walk through his rise in the sport. Hosted by Dale Earnhardt Jr., fans will get a glimpse into Elliott’s roots, passions and love for racing with his parents, friends and colleagues. “CHASE” premiered on Peacock Wednesday and will also air Saturday, Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 23 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 4th
No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
BEST YEAR YET: After 25 races in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron is continuing to have a career-best season at the highest level of competition in the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. So far, Byron has collected one win (Homestead-Miami Speedway), two pole awards (Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – most by a driver this season), nine top-five finishes and 16 top-10s (tied for the third-most by a driver this season) all while leading 264 laps and collecting three stage wins. In his Cup career, these are the most top-five finishes, top-10s, laps led and stage wins the 23-year-old driver has collected in a single year.
ONE MORE CHANCE: Heading to the final race of the 2021 Cup Series regular season, Byron has one more chance to add to his already impressive stats this year. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has spent 4,296 laps running in the top 10 and 2,318 laps in the top five – the third-most in both categories throughout the field. Byron holds the third-best average running position in the Cup Series of 8.92 and an average finishing position of 12.12, placing him in the fourth position in the driver points standings. Byron already locked into this year’s playoffs from his Homestead win.
SUPER ON SUPERSPEEDWAYS: While superspeedway racing brings a lot of uncertainty, Byron seems to take to that style of racing well. In the past four superspeedway races, Byron has three top-10 finishes, including one win, which is tied for the most in the field with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin.
YOUR DEFENDING WINNER: For the second year in a row, the Cup Series regular season will end at the high banks of Daytona International Speedway. Last year, Byron locked himself into the 2020 playoffs after racing his way to his first Cup Series career win under the lights at the summer event. While Byron is already in this year’s playoffs, he heads to Florida looking to repeat.
BACK AT THE BEACH: During his time in the Cup Series, Byron has seven starts at Daytona. In that time, he has collected one win, two top-five finishes, two top-10s and led 80 laps. However, his stats don’t accurately depict Byron’s success at the 2.5-mile oval. Not only is this the venue where he collected his first pole award (2019 DAYTONA 500) and his first Cup Series win, but he also won the Duel qualifying race in 2019 and was in position to capture the win during the summer race in 2019 before weather ended the event early, leaving Byron with a runner-up finish. Byron’s success at Daytona doesn’t end there. During his 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship campaign, Byron qualified third in the July race and led 29 laps to score the victory, becoming the youngest driver with a Xfinity Series win at Daytona at 19 years, 7 months and 1 day.
RUDY RETURNS: Saturday’s race at Daytona will mark the second track this season that Rudy Fugle will be making a return trip to as a Cup Series crew chief. Earlier this year, Fugle called the shots for Byron for the DAYTONA 500 where they qualified second and scored a 26th-place finish after being collected in an early on-track incident. Aside from that one Cup start, the Livonia, New York, native has seven other starts at DIS, all coming in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Fugle has one runner-up result, one top-five finish and two top-10s across those seven races. Of those Truck Series starts, one of them was with Byron where the duo qualified and finished 13th.
LIBERTY U IS BACK: Byron will climb behind the wheel of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE this weekend when the Cup Series takes on Daytona International Speedway Saturday night. Redesigned for the 2021 season, the new paint scheme features a white base with navy flames and red accents, the Liberty University No. 24 will be sure to stand out on track. Liberty University has a long history with Byron starting back in 2014 in the late model ranks. Liberty University has been Training Champions for Christ since it was founded in 1971. Located in the mountains of Central Virginia, Liberty is a liberal arts institution with 17 colleges and schools that offers more than 600 degree programs from the certificate to the doctoral level, on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in communications, Byron is in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program. For a better look at Byron’s new Liberty University paint scheme, click here.
BEACH BUMS: Heading back to Daytona Beach, Florida, for the third time this season, three crew members on the No. 24 team will be making their way back home. Longtime Hendrick Motorsports rear tire changer Johnny Roberts hails from Titusville, Florida, just down the coast from Daytona Beach, where he spent most of his time surfing before making his way to North Carolina and eventually trying out with Hendrick Motorsports in 2010. Engineer Brandon McSwain grew up approximately 100 miles from the “World Center of Racing” in Auburndale. Just a few miles down the road from where McSwain grew up, engine tuner Ben Proctor calls Lakeland home.
48 Alex Bowman
Age: 28 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 12th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
REGULAR SEASON FINALE: Saturday’s event at Daytona International Speedway will mark the final event in the 2021 regular season. Alex Bowman has captured the second-most wins this season with three (Richmond Raceway, Dover International Speedway and Pocono Raceway), six top-five finishes and 12 top-10s, which are tied for the 10th most this season among active drivers. The 28-year-old driver has had a career-best season in wins, top-five finishes and top-10s after 25 events. He has won two of the last eight oval events and has six top-10 results in that span. Bowman’s six top-five finishes also are tied for the 10th most this season among active drivers. The Ally driver has both the 11th-best average running position (12.68) and finishing position (14.4) this season. He has run 1,364 laps inside the top five and 2,786 laps inside the top 10, which ranks 11th overall this year. Bowman sits sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings with one event to go before the first playoff event at Darlington Raceway next Sunday.
DAYTONA HISTORY: Bowman will be making his 11th start in the Cup Series at the Florida-based superspeedway this weekend. The Tucson, Arizona, native has two poles, three second-place starting spots and two top-10s at Daytona. Bowman captured the DAYTONA 500 pole position in 2018 and earlier this season after posting a top speed of 191.26 mph. Bowman has two starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the 2.5-mile superspeedway from 2013. He completed 100% of the laps in those two events and brought home his best finish of third in the spring event. In 2012, Bowman piloted a car in the ARCA Menards Series at the superspeedway and came home 30th after 83 laps.
LOOKING TOWARD THE PLAYOFFS: The seventh-year Cup Series driver will be making his fourth appearance in the playoffs following his three wins this season. Bowman has raced his way into the Round of 12 the last three years and this is the third season where he has clinched a spot in the playoffs based on a victory. In 2019, the team clinched a playoff position after capturing the victory at Chicagoland Speedway and in 2020 following his win at Auto Club Speedway. Bowman has claimed a spot in the NCS playoffs all four years that he has been with Hendrick Motorsports.
IVES SUPERSPEEDWAY RÉSUMÉ: Crew chief Greg Ives will make his 14th Cup Series start this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. In his 13 previous starts, Ives has one win (Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2015), two top-five finishes and four top-10s. In 2015, Earnhardt led 96 out of 161 laps en route to the win during the summer event at the track. Ives has put a car in the pole position four times at Daytona since 2015 and has had a driver start on the front row eight times since the 2015 DAYTONA 500. In 2013, Ives called the shots for Regan Smith in the Xfinity Series and led him to a win at Talladega after 110 laps. From 2006-2012, Ives was a race engineer on the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. During that time, he was part of one win (2006), one pole award (2008) and one runner-up finish (2009) at Daytona International Speedway.
PIT ROAD STATS: Going into the final event in the regular season, the No. 48 pit crew continues to sit fifth on the chart for the fastest four-tire pit stop average in the Cup Series with a time of 13.92 seconds. The team had the fastest single stop at Dover International Speedway (12.18 seconds) on May 16 and had the third-fastest stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway (12.25 seconds) on July 11. The No. 48 pit crew includes fueler Jacob Conley, tire carrier Allen Stallings, jackman Dustin Lineback, and tire changers Scott Brzozowski (front) and Devin DelRicco (rear).
CLEAR THE SHELTERS: On Monday, Aug. 23, the “Clear the Shelters” nationwide initiative through NBC/Telemundo launched in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area. WCNC, the local Charlotte NBC station, teamed up with Bowman and No. 48 partner Ally for the 2021 campaign to get as many pets adopted from local shelters. The “Clear the Shelters” initiative runs through Sept. 18, which is the date of the playoff night race at Bristol Motor Speedway. On Sept. 18, all adoption fees will either be waived or discounted with the goal to clear out the 10 shelters that are participating in the Charlotte area. Learn more here.
DAYTONA RECORDS: Going into Saturday night’s race on the historic Daytona International Speedway oval, Hendrick Motorsports holds the track records for NASCAR Cup Series wins (15; tied with Wood Brothers Racing), pole positions (21), top-five finishes (59), top-10s (103) and laps led (2,164).
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: Seven different drivers have won for Hendrick Motorsports on the 2.5-mile Daytona oval: Jeff Gordon (six wins), Jimmie Johnson (three), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Geoff Bodine, Tim Richmond, Darrell Waltrip and William Byron.
ALL-IN WINS: Hendrick Motorsports has 43 combined NASCAR victories at the sprawling Daytona International Speedway facility. The team has finished first in 15 points-paying Cup Series races on the oval, including eight prestigious DAYTONA 500s. It has won 16 DAYTONA 500 Duel qualifying races, seven of the Clash at DAYTONA non-points exhibitions and four times in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Hendrick Motorsports has also won one Cup race on the track’s road course.
SUPER CARS: No team has more NASCAR Cup Series superspeedway wins than Hendrick Motorsports. The organization has won points-paying races at the big tracks of Daytona and Talladega a combined 28 times with 11 different drivers. Wood Brothers Racing is second with 20 all-time superspeedway victories.
TALKIN’ PLAYOFFS: For the record-tying fourth time, all four Hendrick Motorsports teams have earned berths in the 10-race NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, which will kick off Sept. 5 at Darlington Raceway. It marks the record-extending 16th consecutive season that at least two of the organization’s drivers have competed in the post-season and the record 14th time at least three of its teams have qualified.
NASCAR NEXT: Hendrick Motorsports has a combined 70 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series victories at the next six tracks on the 2021 schedule: 15 at Daytona, 14 at Darlington, 11 at Richmond, 11 at Bristol, six at Las Vegas and 13 at Talladega.
LUCKY 13: Over the last 13 NASCAR Cup Series points races, Hendrick Motorsports has won eight times and is the only organization to go to victory lane more than once. In that span, the team has scored seven runner-up results, finished 1-2 on five occasions (most), won 11 of 27 stages (most), and led 1,534 of 2,516 laps raced (61%). With 52 total entries across the most recent 13 events, the team has scored 25 top-five finishes (most) and 34 top-10s (most).
THROUGH 25: After 25 of 36 points-paying races in 2021, the four-car Hendrick Motorsports stable has won 11 times, which is tied for its most ever at this time of the year. Its 17 stage wins are tied for the most in history by any organization going into the 26th points race. Hendrick Motorsports has its most top-five finishes (40) and posted its fourth-most laps led (2,282) at the 25-event mark. The team’s 61 top-10s in 2021 represent the second-most by anyone ever at this point in a season.
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on racing at Daytona this weekend: “With a playoff spot still available, I’m sure it’s going to be intense. (Second place in standings) Denny (Hamlin) runs well at Daytona, so I am glad we have a bit of a cushion in the points. But that lead can be gone in an instant, so I hope to avoid all the craziness and have a good solid finish.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on calling a race Daytona: “Track position is important at Daytona, which is odd to say. We’ve seen over the last handful of years that cars that are able to get out front and be in the top five if single-file or in the top 10 if mixing it up can control the race inside that top group. What I mean is if you play your strategy wrong and are stuck back in 20th with a handful of laps left, it could be difficult to get back up to the front. We need to do our part right to hopefully have our car up front when it needs to be there. There are things we can control, but a lot is out of our hands.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on Daytona: “Yes, Daytona is the cutoff race, but it has always been on the schedule before the playoffs. Whether it is at the beginning of the year or last race before the playoffs, you are either in it or you’re not. You have 25 other races to solidify your spot before then. It’s nice to go into the weekend and be locked in because anything can happen at Daytona.”
Elliott on if the No. 9 team is already in playoff mode: “Honestly, we are just kind of taking it a week at a time. I haven’t looked ahead to the playoffs just yet or have anything circled on the calendar. We just take it a week at a time. We try to do our best every week. Things change, the cars are evolving and competition is evolving. We just try to take what we have at any given moment and give it our best. Our focus right now is on this weekend’s race at Daytona.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the whole No. 9 team: “We believe in each other and support each other. When it gets tough, that’s what matters. It’s kind of easy to get along when things are going well. It’s hard when it’s tough. This team has been together long enough. We’ve been through a lot of tough times, so we can navigate through different things and different scenarios. It’s a great team; a great group, and we all believe in each other and what we are trying to do. That can become a powerful thing.”
Gustafson on atmosphere at Hendrick Motorsports with all four teams being locked into the playoffs: “It’s a big accomplishment to get all four teams locked in. It’s a really good thing – all four cars have won races, so we’re excited and ready to go. It’s a long, long battle. Ten weeks is a long time, so a lot of opportunities there. We’re just focused on getting ready to go and getting to Phoenix.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the stress of locking into the playoffs last year versus this year: “Last year was stressful for most of the race. It was one of those Game 7-type moments that you go into knowing it’s do or die. I actually really like that sensation. You know exactly what you need to do to get the job done instead of trying to count points. It was interesting how that race played out, though. With things that happened on track with other guys, I was in a position that I could make it in on points as long as I finished. So, during that red flag, it was really a mindset change for me of, ‘Okay we don’t need to win, but if we can, we will to seal the deal.’ It’s nice to not be in that bubble situation this year. Now I can watch and see how it plays out. We’re still in a similar situation of going into this race with a clear objective – secure playoff points and a win to set us up better moving forward.”
Byron on how his driving style has changed throughout the years on superspeedways: “I think I’ve learned a lot behind the wheel on these types of tracks. My driving style is really more dynamic now. With the stages, you have time to go really hard and then have times to relax and let the car find its way through traffic. Stage points are critical, though, in superspeedway racing. If you can get stage points you need to, but you don’t want to push it to get to that point and wreck right before the stage ends and wind up with 40th-place points. It’s a really tricky balance. I feel like for us, we’re going to try race for at least one of the stage wins to get the extra playoff point but also keeping strategy in mind to put us in position up front in the end. It’s up to me, though, on knowing when to push it, and I think I have a good idea of when those moments are.”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on Daytona being the final race of the season: “I think going to Daytona for the cutoff race to start the playoffs is interesting. You have guys kind of throwing everything they got at one race if they aren’t locked in. At a place like Daytona, that can cause a lot of things to happen. Hopefully, we can stay out of the mess because I am sure that there will be one and be there at the end. Going into this race with a spot already in the playoffs, there probably isn’t as much pressure as there could be, but we are definitely going there with the goal of capitalizing on stage points, stage wins and the overall race win. It would be really cool to win at Daytona, there’s so much history there. Regardless of what race it is, they’re all really special and it would be great to get a win.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on his mindset heading to Daytona: “Ultimately, we need to go into Saturday’s race thinking about getting as many stage points and stage wins as we can. We need to try to get more playoff points with the overall win, which is kind of our goal. Obviously, we want to learn as much as we can since Talladega is going to be a key factor in order to move to the next round. We are trying to learn as much as we can and put Alex in situations where we have to learn what the new package is. There is a lot of learning that we have to continue to do and run as many competitive laps as we can. Hoping to come out of Daytona with a strong finish for the Ally 48 and get us a win before we head to Darlington.”
