5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 31 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 5th
No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media in the Richmond Raceway media center on Saturday, March 30, at 9:15 a.m. local time.
DEFENDING WINNER: On Sunday, Kyle Larson will look to defend his win at Richmond Raceway after going to victory lane there in April of 2023. During that race, Larson led 93 laps (his most ever at Richmond). The 31-year-old driver has earned two wins, four top-five finishes and eight top-10s in 18 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Virginia short track. During the Next Gen era (2022-present), he has run the fourth-most laps in the top five (622) and the sixth-most laps in the top 10 (904).
THREE OF FOUR IN 5: Larson has four short-track victories, three of which have occurred since joining the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team in 2021. The trio of wins occurred in his last 13 starts with visits to victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2021 and Richmond and Martinsville Speedway in 2023.
EIGHT IS (NOT) ENOUGH: Larson leads several statistical categories over the last eight Cup Series short-track races. The 2021 Cup Series champion is tied for the most wins (two), poles (one), top-five finishes (six) and top-10s (seven), while he is tops in second-place finishes (two) and average finish (5.13). Larson has finished in the top six in seven of the last eight short-track events.
NEXT GEN(ERATIONAL) TALENT: Larson only trails Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron in wins in the Next Gen car. Byron, the Cup Series’ most recent winner, has 10 wins, and Larson has eight in the most recent iteration of the car in NASCAR’s premier series. Since 2022, Larson has the second-best average finish (7.18), second-most wins (two) and third-most points (416) on short tracks.
PUTTING IN WORK IN THE PITS: The No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM pit crew has this season’s fifth-best average four-tire pit stop time (11.085 seconds). The five-person crew is comprised of Blaine Anderson (front-tire changer), R.J. Barnette (tire carrier), Brandon Harder (fueler), Brandon Johnson (jackman) and Calvin Teague (rear-tire changer).
HENDRICKCARS.COM IS HOME: Larson and the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM crew will wear their white “home” fire suits this weekend at Richmond. Every HENDRICKCARS.COM home race this season will feature a unique hat released the week of the event that is exclusively available for purchase at trackside merchandise haulers or to win on HENDRICKCARS.COM. Less than 100 of each limited-edition hat will be made available. Check out this weekend’s Richmond hat here. The No. 5 team celebrates home races in markets where Hendrick Automotive Group car dealerships are located.
THE (CAR) CAPITOL: The River City is also a car town. The Richmond, Virginia, market is home to Hendrick Automotive Group dealership Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Buick GMC Richmond. Not located in Richmond? Customers can pick from any of Hendrick Automotive Group’s 93 dealerships nationwide and shop from the convenience of their homes by visiting HENDRICKCARS.COM. The website offers searches by category, make, model and vehicle packages from the nearly 30,000 new, high-quality pre-owned and certified cars, trucks and SUVs.
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 28 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 9th
No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
RICHMOND RECORD: Chase Elliott will make his 16th Richmond Raceway start this Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series. In his previous 15 races at the 0.75-mile oval, he collected five top-five finishes – one being a runner-up result (April of 2018) – and six top-10s. Additionally, he has made four Richmond starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, never finishing outside the top five and earning a win in 2015.
SHORT-TRACK PERFORMANCE: The Richmond race will be Elliott’s 47th short-track start in the Cup Series. Through those previous 46 races, he has garnered one win – Martinsville Speedway in November of 2020 – 14 top-five finishes, 24 top-10s, two pole awards and 1,579 laps led. The 28-year-old driver finished inside the top 10 in seven of his last nine short-track starts. Since the Next Gen’s debut in 2022, Elliott has the fourth-best average finish (9.60) and scored the fifth-most points (340) on short tracks. In one points-paying start this season on a track measuring less than 1 mile in length, he placed eighth at Bristol Motor Speedway.
2024 NUMBERS: Sunday will mark the premier series’ seventh race of the 2024 season. Across the first six races, Elliott has completed all but one of the 1,607 laps in competition – tied for second best. Additionally, he has the seventh-best average running position (13.34), the ninth-most laps inside the top 10 (656) and the 10th-most circuits in the top five (301). Elliott has led 18 laps this season, including the 80,000th in the Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports. In 2024, Elliott and the No. 9 team have been consistently fast in qualifying, earning three consecutive top-10 starting positions and four out of six total for the year.
GREAT GUSTAFSON: On Sunday, No. 9 team crew chief Alan Gustafson is set to call his 36th Richmond race in his 20th season in the Cup Series. In his previous 35 starts at the track with five different drivers (Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Mark Martin, Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon and Elliott), Gustafson accumulated 15 top-five finishes – including five runner-up results – 19 top-10s and 625 laps led.
DYNAMIC DUO: Elliott and Gustafson are in their ninth season together and are currently the longest active driver and crew chief combo in the Cup Series garage. The duo is ranked second among active pairings with 18 points-paying victories. Gustafson and Elliott earned their first Cup Series title in 2020 and the team captured the regular-season championship in 2022.
FOUR TIRES FAST: Through six Cup Series races in 2024, the No. 9 pit crew ranks fourth in average four-tire pit stop time (11.058 seconds). On March 17 at Bristol, the five-person team knocked out the fourth-fastest four-tire stop of the season with a time of 9.479 seconds. The No. 9 crew is comprised of Chad Avrit (rear-tire changer), Jared Erspamer (tire carrier), John Gianninoto (fueler), Nick O’Dell (front-tire changer) and T.J. Semke (jackman). In addition, this group was the winning pit crew for last weekend’s Xfinity Series win for the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM team at Circuit of The Americas.
UNIFIRST IS BACK: UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF), a North American leader in providing customized work uniform programs, corporate attire and facility service products, is back on board as the primary partner on No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for its first of five races in 2024. Get a look at all the angles of the UniFirst Chevrolet here.
24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 26 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 6th
No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media in the Richmond Raceway media center on Saturday, March 30, at 9:30 a.m. local time.
ANOTHER WON: William Byron dominated at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) this past weekend. After finishing practice fastest overall, he captured his second consecutive pole at the Austin, Texas, facility, setting the track record in the process. When the field went green Sunday, Byron set the tone early and led 42 of 68 laps en route to the win. This was the 26-year-old’s first win after capturing the pole and the first time since 2019 that a driver “won the weekend.” This is the third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series season that Byron has been the first multi-win driver – a feat that hasn’t been done since Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon did it from 1997 to 1999.
WHAT’S IN A NUMBER: With his win at COTA, Byron continues to extend the history and legacy of the No. 24. The iconic car number is third on the all-time list with 105 Cup Series wins, trailing only the No. 43 (200 wins) and the No. 11 (232 wins). All of Byron’s 12 premier series wins have come in the No. 24, while Gordon accounts for 93 wins. To top it off, his win on Sunday ties him for the fifth-most wins by a Hendrick Motorsports driver (12 in 222 starts) – tied with Terry Labonte, who captured his 12 wins in 387 starts.
NEXT GEN DUO: Since the introduction of the Next Gen Cup Series car in 2022, Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle hold a series-leading 10 wins. The duo leads Hendrick Motorsports teammates driver Kyle Larson (eight wins) and crew chief Cliff Daniels (seven wins).
NIGHT HAWK: The Cup Series will race under the lights for the second time this year. Byron has the most wins (three) in night races (Martinsville Speedway in April of 2022, Atlanta Motor Speedway in July of 2023 and the DAYTONA 500 in February of 2024) since the inception of the Next Gen car. In the last six races under the lights, Byron has claimed two wins and finished better than ninth in all events.
READY FOR RICHMOND: This Sunday’s race at Richmond Raceway will mark Byron’s 12th Cup Series start at the 0.75-mile track. He currently has a track-best finish of third that came in April of 2022 after starting on the front row and leading 122 laps. Byron also came close to picking up the victory in April of 2023 after winning stage one and leading a race-high 117 laps, but he was involved in an on-track incident that left him with a 24th-place finish. In the Next Gen car at Richmond, Byron has led the most laps (239) and run the third-most laps in the top five (654). His total laps led at the track are the second most he’s led at a single track in his career.
RUDY’S RICHMOND RECORD: Fugle will make his sixth Cup Series start atop the pit box at Richmond on Sunday. His best Cup Series start at the short track came in April of 2022, where Byron and the No. 24 team had a track-best weekend, qualifying second, leading 122 laps and ultimately finishing third after being passed for the win with five laps to go. The Livonia, New York, native has three additional national series starts in the capital city of Virginia – one in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and two in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
PIT ROAD PROWESS: After six races in the 2023 season, the No. 24 pit crew continues to build on their success from last season. The team’s clutch work in the pits aided Byron’s path to victory at COTA. Currently, the five-person crew ranks second-best in average four-tire pit stop time (10.960 seconds). The No. 24 pit crew consists of Spencer Bishop (jackman), Jeff Cordero (front-tire changer), Orane Ossowski (rear-tire changer), Ryan Patton (tire carrier) and Landon Walker (fueler).
LIBERTY U IS BACK: For Sunday’s race at Richmond, Byron will sport Liberty University on board his No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Featuring a white base with navy flames and red accents, the Liberty University No. 24 will surely stand out on track. Liberty University has a long history with Byron starting 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 offer more than 600 degree programs, from the certificate to the doctoral level, on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in strategic communication, Byron is in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program. For a better look at Byron’s Liberty University paint scheme, click here.
HELP RELAY OUT: The final round of a bracket-style fan vote to determine the paint scheme for the No. 24 Relay Payments Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will continue through Thursday, March 28. Running at the Chicago Street Course in July and then later at Atlanta in the playoffs, it’s in the fans’ hands for what Byron’s race car will look like. Relay Payments, the fintech company modernizing payments for the trucking and logistics industries, came on board last summer as a partner for the No. 24 team. The winning paint scheme will be unveiled on Friday, March 29. To look at the options and place a vote, click here.
48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 30 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 11th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
TOP FIVE TOP FIVE: Alex Bowman has earned two consecutive top-five finishes at Circuit of The Americas and Bristol Motor Speedway. The identical fourth-place results mark the first time Bowman has finished in the top five in back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series races since 2020. Combined with his runner-up finish in the prestigious DAYTONA 500, the driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is tied for the series lead in top-five finishes (three) with three other competitors through the first six races this season. The Tucson, Arizona, native holds the best average finish of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers in 2024 and the fifth-best mark among series regulars (12.50).
CONTINUED SUCCESS AT COTA: Bowman’s fourth-place run in “The Lone Star State” last Sunday was his third consecutive top-five finish and fourth straight top-10 at the 20-turn Austin, Texas, track (eighth in 2021, second in 2022, third in 2023 and fourth in 2023).
SHORT-TRACK STATS: Of active Cup Series drivers, Bowman is one of eight drivers with multiple short-track wins. Both of his victories have come in Virginia and coincidentally at the next two tracks on the schedule: Richmond Raceway (April of 2021) and Martinsville Speedway (October of 2021). The two wins were part of his career-best (to date) four-win season.
RUNNING IT BACK AT RICHMOND: In the Richmond spring race of 2021, Bowman took the lead for the first time with 10 laps to go. At the checkered flag, he proved triumphant over the second-place competitor by a mere 0.381 seconds. For Bowman, this was his first victory of that season, the third of his career and his first ever on a short track. In last year’s spring race, Bowman started from the top spot in the field and finished eighth. He has three straight top-10 finishes in the spring race and has top-10s in four of the last seven races at the 0.75-mile track. In 15 starts, the 31-year-old driver has one win, four top-10 finishes and 19 laps led at the track in Virginia’s capital city.
PICKING UP A POSITION ON PIT ROAD: Following last weekend’s race, the No. 48 Ally Racing pit crew moved up one spot to sixth for the series’ fastest average four-tire stop (11.257 seconds). In February, the team delivered the fastest four-tire stop amongst all teams at Atlanta Motor Speedway (9.543 seconds). The five-person crew is composed of Andrew Bridgeforth (rear-tire changer), Jacob Conley (fueler), Brandon Grier (tire carrier), Allen Holman (jackman) and Donnie Tasser (front-tire changer).
BEST FRIENDS IN VIRGINIA: The 2024 season marks the fourth consecutive year that Ally and Bowman have supported Best Friends Animal Society and their vast network of partners. Since the beginning of 2022, the pair has committed a combined weekly donation of $4,800 to a Best Friends network partner corresponding to each weekend’s race. Richmond Raceway’s local beneficiary is the Regional Animal Shelter of King William County, located in King William, Virginia. Fans can visit the shelter, which is located about 40 minutes from the track. Additionally, fans can go online to learn more about adopting, the pet food pantry, lost and found pets or their new foster program.
WIN NEW WHEELS: Ally and Hendrick Automotive Group have teamed together to celebrate Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary by giving away a 40th Anniversary Edition Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE through the Ally “Win Your Wheels fueled by HendrickCars.com” sweepstakes. NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports and No. 48 fans can enter to win at Ally.com/sweepstakes/nascar. The sweepstakes will end on Sept. 20, 2024.
HENDRICK
MOTORSPORTS /
| 2024 | All-Time | Richmond | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Races | 6 | 1,351 | 79 |
| Wins | 3* | 304* | 12 |
| Poles | 1 | 247* | 18* |
| Top 5 | 7 | 1,239* | 67* |
| Top 10 | 9 | 2,121* | 123* |
| Laps Led | 309 | 80,066* | 4,472 |
| Stage Wins | 3 | 101 | 1 |
*Most **Most (tie)
FABULOUS 40: In 2024, Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Among the categories that the Rick Hendrick-owned organization holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for are all-time wins (304), poles (247), laps led (80,066) and championships (14). With William Byron’s victory at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the organization has won at least three races a year in each of the last 31 seasons.
NINE BY SIX BY THREE: Byron’s win at COTA marked the ninth time the Concord, North Carolina, based team had at least three wins through six races. That mark is the highest of all teams. The team accomplished this in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2022 and 2024.
PIT POWER: Based on Racing Insights data, all four Hendrick Motorsports pit crews rank in the top six among Cup Series teams for the fastest average four-tire pit stop. The No. 24 RAPTOR pit crew ranks second (10.960 seconds). The No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts pit crew is fourth (11.058 seconds) followed by the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM pit crew in fifth (11.085 seconds) and the No. 48 Ally Racing pit crew is sixth (11.257 seconds).
XFINITY GETS THE DUB: Kyle Larson gave Hendrick Motorsports its first NASCAR Xfinity Series win since 2009 with a last-lap pass for the victory at COTA last weekend. The organization did not race in the series from 2010 to 2021 before re-starting a limited schedule in 2022. In its history, Hendrick Motorsports has earned one Xfinity Series championship (2003) and 27 race wins in the series. Eight more starts are on the schedule for the 2024 season.
WINNING IN THE RIVER CITY: Hendrick Motorsports has tallied 12 wins at Richmond Raceway. Jimmie Johnson and Terry Labonte lead the way with three victories, followed by team vice chairman Jeff Gordon with two. Alex Bowman, Larson, Joe Nemechek and Tim Richmond each have one win at the 0.75-mile track. The seven drivers to win in Virginia’s capital city are the most by a single organization.
LAST SPRING AT RICHMOND: In last April’s race at Richmond, Larson’s victory highlighted a strong day for Hendrick Motorsports. Josh Berry, who filled in for the sidelined Chase Elliott, finished second. Bowman finished eighth in the 400-lap event, while Byron led a race-high 117 laps and scored a stage win. All told, the team led 228 laps on the day. For the second consecutive spring race and the sixth time at Richmond, the team placed three cars inside the top 10.
NO SHORTAGE: Hendrick Motorsports leads all active Cup Series teams with 57 points-paying victories on short tracks. Gordon’s 17 short-track wins lead all drivers in team history. The active driver lineup has a combined seven short-track successes for the organization: Larson (three), Bowman (two), Byron (one) and Elliott (one). The team has three points-paying wins on short tracks in the Next Gen era (since 2022) with Larson (two) and Byron (one). Larson is one of three drivers with multiple short-track wins in the Next Gen car.
VICTORY IN VIRGINIA: Team owner Rick Hendrick grew up in Palmer Springs, Virginia, and his teams have won 40 Cup Series races in his home state. Hendrick Motorsports has gone to victory lane in Virginia at least one time in 28 different seasons, including each of the past four full seasons. The most recent 13 races in Virginia have seen one of his cars emerge victorious on six occasions, with all four active drivers winning.
GET TO THE POINTS: Larson (416 points), Elliott (340 points) and Byron (333 points) rank third, fifth and seventh, respectively, in points scored on short tracks in the Next Gen car since its debut in 2022. On average finish, Larson (7.18) and Elliott (9.60) are second and fourth in that statistical category.
NIGHT SHIFT: The organization’s five night race wins in the Next Gen car are the most by all teams. Byron leads all drivers with three victories. Elliott and Larson each have one win under the lights in the latest iteration of the Cup Series car.
QUOTABLE /
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his past results at Richmond Raceway: “It seems like Richmond (Raceway) has been hit or miss for us. We’ve done really well on short tracks recently and we won a race at Richmond last year. But we didn’t have a good race there in the summer, so we’re hoping to improve on that so we can challenge for another win there.”
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on if this is a “fun” race to call because of the very differing pit strategy that can be utilized during the race: “For the most part, it’s a lot of fun – especially when you’re reasonably competitive like in the top 12 or top 15. We’ve had cars that were running in the top five or top six. If you’re a short-run car, you pit a lot of times, but if you’re a long-run car, you stay out and take advantage of that. It does make it fun from a pure strategy standpoint.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what makes Richmond a tough track: “Richmond (Raceway) is super tough. You wouldn’t think it would be tough by looking at it and making a lap. It’s always been really difficult for me to get ahold of and be able to repeat and be good there time after time. It seems like the window to hit it right at Richmond is as small as it is anywhere that we go. There are very few guys on the circuit that I feel have had consistent success there year after year.”
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the challenge of Richmond: “We have a love-hate relationship with Richmond (Raceway). It’s one of my favorite tracks. I love racing there. I love the availability of different lines and short-track racing and all that, but it is the most fickle racetrack we go to. We can run well there one race and bring the exact same stuff back to the next race and just not be any good at all. So, I’m looking forward to getting up there. I think we’ve learned quite a few things over the time since we raced there last and look forward to applying them. We have just got to be better. Just being able to have good front-end pace and then being really consistent over the long run. We’ve had one or the other at times and have not been able to put it together as well as our competitors have. Looking forward to having the opportunity to do that this weekend and I feel good about it.”
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on adding to the No. 24’s legacy being the first driver to multiple wins for three consecutive seasons since team vice chairman Jeff Gordon: “It’s awesome. I actually saw that stat during the week and I told Rudy (Fugle, crew chief), ‘let’s go get it. Let’s get the third consecutive season of multiple wins.’ Then we went out and did it. What a cool stat. Stacking those wins early and then to be able to do something that Jeff Gordon did in the 90’s that nobody has done since, it’s pretty awesome. I’m just proud of this team and all we have accomplished together.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing under the lights at Richmond: “Richmond (Raceway) is going to be interesting. We haven’t raced the Next Gen there at the night time at all. There’s not usually a ton of side-by-side racing, but there are a lot of comers and goers that turn into pit strategy options on what is going to work better. Some of those strategies then can come as a surprise when a team makes it work. With a night race and cool temperatures, that may give us a chance of seeing more side-by-side racing. We may see more of why this place used to be called the ‘Action Track.'”
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on preparing for Richmond: “It (Richmond Raceway) is really slick and really difficult to get ahold of – even when you’re fast. The summer race was rough on us last year, but in the spring race we were pretty decent. Hopefully, it will be more like the spring race for us. Historically for Hendrick Motorsports, when it’s cooler out, we’re better off. When it’s warmer out, we struggle. With this Sunday being a night race and cooler in the spring, we should be a little bit better. I’ve spent a lot of time in the sim trying to improve on things too.”
Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the momentum of back-to-back top-five finishes: “It felt good to rebound at Bristol (Motor Speedway) and secure a top-five finish then have another great weekend at COTA (Circuit of The Americas) to keep us in the mix competitively. I’m really happy with how our team handled those tracks. Regardless of how good or bad the weekend went before, we know what we have ahead of us. As far as where Alex (Bowman) is, I’m happy with where he is physically and mentally – the whole team really. I think we needed a couple of good finishes to kind of solidify all the hard work that our Ally team is putting in. You like to see that. We look forward to carrying that (momentum) to Richmond (Raceway).”
