Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Watkins Glen

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 32 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Week: 37th (Atlanta)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 10th (-30)
 
No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Kyle Larson is the only driver to have eclipsed the 1,000-laps-led barrier in 2024 with 1,089. That ranks second through 27 races behind only his 2021 championship season (1,722).
• The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion is 15 points above the elimination cutoff while the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM entry is 20 markers ahead in the owners standings.
• Larson is tied for the most stage wins this year with 10 and is one of only two drivers with double-digit stage victories.
• The 32-year-old driver has run a series-high 3,555 laps in the top five in 2024 and his average running position of 10.11 also tops the series.
• The Elk Grove, California, native led 19 laps en route to victory on the road course at Sonoma Raceway earlier this year.
• Larson has won two of the last three races (2021 and 2022) at Watkins Glen International.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 28 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last week: 8th (Atlanta)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 8th (-21)
 
No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Chase Elliott heads to Watkins Glen International eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings, 24 points above the elimination line.
• The 28-year-old driver has two victories at Watkins Glen, including his first career Cup Series win in 2018.
• Elliott has seven premiere series wins on serpentine tracks, which leads active drivers, is third on the all-time list and makes up 37% of his career Cup victories.
• The Dawsonville, Georgia, native leads active Cup drivers in average finish on road courses (8.97) and holds the sixth-best average finish all-time.
• Elliott has earned the fifth-most points (439) in the Next Gen car on road courses and has the third-best average finish (10.43).
• The 2020 Cup Series champion is tied with Denny Hamlin for the most stage wins on road courses among active drivers with eight.
• Alan Gustafson leads active Cup Series crew chiefs with seven victories on road courses.
• Elliott’s autographed Desi9n to Drive uniform worn in last week’s race is up for grabs as part of a sweepstakes fundraiser that runs through Oct. 9.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 26 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Week: 9th (Atlanta)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: T-4th (-22)

No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• After the first race of the Round of 16, William Byron is tied for fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings, 33 points above the cutoff.
• The Charlotte, North Carolina, native won last season’s race at Watkins Glen International, starting second and leading 66 laps en route to the victory.
• In 2024, Byron has led the most laps on road courses with 42, earned 83 points and has run 59 laps in the top five.
• In Next Gen events on road courses, the 26-year-old driver has earned 429 points and has an average finish of 12.93.
• This Saturday, Byron will compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. This will also be the fourth race that No. 24 lead engineer, Brandon McSwain, will serve as crew chief of the No. 17. McSwain and Byron have worked together previously in the Xfinity Series, collecting four wins in Byron’s 2017 championship campaign with Hendrick Motorsports affiliate JR Motorsports.

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Week: 5th (Atlanta)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 6th (-18)
 
No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• In the first race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Alex Bowman led Hendrick Motorsports with a fifth-place finish and scored 48 points, his third most in a race this season.
• Of the 16 playoff drivers, Bowman gained the second-most points on the bubble. He currently ranks sixth in the playoff standings, 27 clear of the cutline.
• Heading to Watkins Glen International, Bowman has contributed one victory to Hendrick Motorsports’ 30 all-time road course wins, conquering the Chicago Street Course in July this season. He leads the Cup Series in points earned on road courses in 2024 (115), five more than anyone else and has run the fifth-most laps in the top five on this track type this season (75).
• Among active drivers, the Tucson, Arizona, native holds the eighth-best average finish (14.7) in 33 starts on road courses. His mark of 13.36 is fifth in the Next Gen era. In his most recent six starts on this track type, he has a victory, three top fives, four top 10s, an average start of 12.67 and average finish of 9.33. He has finished in the top 10 in three of the last four road course events.
• For four years, Bowman and Ally have teamed up to support Best Friends Animal Society and their vast network of partners. Every race weekend, the pair donates a total of $4,800 to help homeless pets. When the No. 48 team wins, the donation is increased to $10,000 for that race’s shelter. This weekend, the charitable donation will go to Chemung County Humane Society & SPCA, Inc., located approximately 20 miles south of Watkins Glen International.

 
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS

 
*Most
**Tied for most

• Hendrick Motorsports has won 30 times on road courses, the most by 15. Organizations in the second-through-fourth positions have combined for 30.
• With William Byron (COTA), Kyle Larson (Sonoma) and Alex Bowman (Chicago Street Course) claiming wins this season, Hendrick Motorsports became the first organization to send three different drivers to victory lane at three consecutive road courses.
• All four current Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs have at least one victory at a road course, led by Alan Gustafson, leader of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team, with seven.
• Hendrick Motorsports has won five consecutive races at Watkins Glen International, the most by any organization at any track since Hendrick Motorsports claimed six straight victories at Phoenix (2007-2009).
• Standing at 58 playoff victories, Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest organization in the postseason by 21 wins.
• All four Hendrick Motorsports pit crews rank in the top eight in terms of average four-tire stops. The No. 9 over-the-wall squad tops that list at 10.798 seconds and also registered the fastest stop of the year at Texas Motor Speedway (9.078 seconds).

QUOTABLE
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on going to Watkins Glen International after crashing at Atlanta: “I’m definitely excited to get to Watkins Glen. I read a stat last night I don’t think Hendrick Motorsports has lost there since 2017. We’ll see. I think it’s going to be a little different. It seems like there will be a little more tire falloff than normal, I don’t know how that will play a factor into things but regardless, I think our road course package and especially Watkins Glen is a really good package so, we should have some speed it’s just still a road course, so a lot of things can happen.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the biggest change he’s seen with the Next Gen car on road courses: “Just the difficulty in passing. It has become, in my opinion, way harder to do and to get the rear tires to live. It’s just hard. Anywhere that we go, the corner entry, the part of the corner that is narrow, is going to be an extreme challenge to pass. You look at Darlington very much the same way. It’s not like you can fan out and have a bunch of different options when you first turn off the wall. Martinsville is a great example of that, the road courses are a prime example of that. Phoenix is a little bit that way in (turns) three and four. So, when you leave the wall and you can’t get outboard or inboard of someone’s wake, it’s going to be a real challenge. And with road courses, there is one spot that you want to be on corner entry. Unless you are just dive bombing a guy.  And even if you are doing that, that is not the optimum way to make a lap time either.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how new tires at Watkins Glen will affect strategy: “I think it depends on pace in practice, how much they fall off. We’re going to have 40 minutes instead of 20, so you’re going to have more time to figure out what that pace drop off is and I think you’ll make your adjustments from there. Confident in my group that they’ll go through all those notes and look at the information and make good decisions.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on Hendrick Motorsports success, personal struggles at Watkins Glen: “I feel like that’s the one road course that I’ve still kind of got to get a hold of a little bit but obviously, Hendrick Motorsports on road courses has been really good for a long time but Chase (Elliott) really got a hold of Watkins Glen and kind of developed all of our stuff to be really good there right off the bat. Trying to play catch up a little bit but I’m excited to get there.”