Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Dover

Dover Motor Speedway
Sunday, May 17
1-Mile Oval
1 p.m. ET
Location: Dover, Delaware
TV: Fox
Event: NASCAR All-Star Race
RADIO: SiriusXM

5 KYLE LARSON
Age: 33 (July 31, 1992)
Hometown: Elk Grove, California
Last Race: 23rd (Watkins Glen)
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Standings: 8th

No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet

• Kyle Larson has won three of his last seven starts in the NASCAR All-Star Race and finished in the top two in four of his last eight.
• In nine All-Star Races, Larson has an average finish of 8.56.
• Larson and Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon are tied with Dale Earnhardt for the second-most All-Star Race victories with three each. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson has the most with four.
• The Elk Grove, California, native has finished sixth or better in six of his last seven starts at Dover Motor Speedway including five finishes of fourth or better.

9 CHASE ELLIOTT
Age: 30 (Nov. 28, 1995)
Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
Last Race: 24th (Watkins Glen)
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Standings: 3rd

No. 9 Prime Video Chevrolet

• Chase Elliott will make his 11th consecutive appearance in the NASCAR All-Star Race this weekend.
• In 2020, Elliott earned his first career All-Star Race victory, claiming the checkered flag at Bristol Motor Speedway. Elliott led 60 laps en route to capturing the $1 million prize. He became the third-youngest winner of the event at 24 years, seven months and 17 days.
• The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has finished in the top 10 in eight of his 10 All-Star Race appearances. His average finish of 7.7 ranks third among active drivers and sixth all time among drivers with at least four starts.
• This weekend, the All-Star Race will be held at Dover Motor Speedway for the first time. Elliott is a two-time winner at the track, most recently visiting victory lane there in May 2022.
• He has finished sixth or better in four of his last five Cup Series races at Dover. He led 238 of 407 laps in the most recent points-paying event at the track, finishing sixth.

24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 28 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Last Race: 36th (Watkins Glen)
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 12th

No. 24 Axalta Solar Boost Chevrolet

• For the first time, the NASCAR All-Star Race is heading to Dover Motor Speedway. William Byron has finished top 10 in three of his seven career starts in the event, including sixth last year at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• Currently, the No. 24 is in a five-way tie for the second-most wins by a car number in the All-Star Race with three, just behind the No. 48 with four wins.
• In his Cup Series career at Dover, Byron has three top-five finishes and four top 10s across 11 starts. He has a track-best finish of fourth on three occasions (August 2020, May 2021, May 2023).
• This weekend, Byron will sport a new paint scheme highlighting Axalta’s Color of the Year, Solar Boost. Now in its 12th year, Axalta’s color experts select a standout color that will resonate with car buyers and future coating trends. Byron’s radiant orange, champagne and white scheme will run multiple times in 2026.

48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 33 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Last Race: 25th (Watkins Glen)
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 34th

No. 48 Ally Chevrolet

• Alex Bowman and the No. 48 team are not currently locked into the final segment of Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR All-Star Race. The 33-year-old driver will seek to be among the top six drivers not otherwise qualified with the best average finish in the first two segments combined to advance to the final stage.
• Also, NASCAR announced on Monday that Bowman is among the top five in the All-Star Race Fan Vote. The winning driver will earn entry into the final segment. Fans can vote up to five times per day per unique email address until 9 a.m. ET on Sunday. Bowman won the Fan Vote in 2019.
• Bowman has finished inside the top 10 in his last five All-Star Races. This includes events at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• Bowman has the best average finish (5.33) among active drivers at Dover Motor Speedway in the Next Gen era. In seven of his last eight Cup starts there, he’s finished inside the top eight, including a win in 2021. In 14 starts at the track, he has earned six top fives, seven top 10s and has led a total of 143 laps.
• As a nod to the fans, the Ally 48 Chevrolet will sport a new, dragon-themed paint scheme at Dover. This scheme was unveiled last week after the fan reaction to the original 2026 primary paint scheme unveil.

17 COREY DAY
Age: 20 (November 28, 2005)
Hometown: Clovis, California
Last Race: 15th (Watkins Glen)
Crew Chief: Adam Wall
Standings: 5th

• Corey Day makes his 14th NASCAR O’Reilly Series start of the 2026 season this weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, marking his first career appearance at the one-mile oval.
• The No. 17 NOAPS entry has made 14 starts at Dover, with multiple drivers behind the wheel at the Monster Mile. Brian Vickers won a NOAPS race at Dover during his championship season for Hendrick Motorsports in 2003.
• In 24 NOAPS starts, Day has recorded five top-five finishes, 11 top 10s, and led 191 laps.

Hendrick Motorsports
 

• Hendrick Motorsports enters this weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway as the facility’s all-time leader in wins (11), poles (eight), and laps led (760). Chase Elliott is a two-time winner at the 1-mile oval while Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman have each visited victory lane once.
• The organization has combined to win three of the last six All-Star Races (Larson twice, Elliott once). Hendrick Motorsports’ 11 wins in the event are six more than any other team.
• The Hendrick Motorsports engine department enters the weekend with 568 victories across all three national NASCAR touring series including 10 of 13 events in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series this season.
• Hendrick Motorsports remains the premier series’ all-time standard bearer in wins (322), poles (259), top-five finishes (1,334), top 10s (2,281), laps led (86,096) and championships (15).

 
QUOTABLE
 
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on the All-Star Race: “I think the format will make for good racing. Dover is the type of track where you need long runs and traffic to produce good racing. I feel like the higher-horsepower, lower-downforce car package will positively impact the on-track product. I think the racing will be better, and the drivers will definitely have their hands full. We get to race for a million bucks, and that is something we all love. Hopefully, the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM team can figure it out better than everyone else and get back to victory lane.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on the evolution of the No. 9 team “We’ve been together a long time. I think with that, we’ve experienced a lot together. We’ve experienced a lot of good, fortunately. We’ve also experienced a lot of bad, unfortunately. But I think in all of that, it certainly has helped shape us to be who we are today. I think that’s a team that has experienced enough that we should know better in just how to handle things; how to handle bad days, as well as how to handle good days, if you’re fortunate enough to have them.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on the NASCAR All-Star Race: “I feel like the All-Star Race is a little bit of a reset point for teams. With no points on the line, and the fact that we only race at Dover [Motor Speedway] once this year, it means you can go out on a limb and try more than you might normally do if it was a normal race weekend. You obviously don’t want to go too far out and not be competitive, but there isn’t much that’s probably going to translate to another track. It’s kind of a ‘why not go for it’ kind of situation.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on heading to a strong track at Dover Motor Speedway: “Dover is one of my best tracks by far and it is a good one for Hendrick Motorsports overall. We’ve had success there and we’ve been in the hunt recently. This season, we’ve been off at a lot of tracks that have been good for us in the past. For me, it’s important to run well this weekend, and use it to find the benchmark of where we are at to continue building on that. We all wish Watkins Glen (International) was a better weekend for us, but that’s racing; you can’t let the highs get too high because this sport will bring you back down.”

Corey Day, driver of the No. 17 Chevrolet, on Dover Motor Speedway: “I’m hoping Dover will be a good track for me and the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet. We’ve had a lot of speed on ovals so far this season so I’m looking forward to building on that momentum and seeing where we end up. It’s another new track for me so practice will be crucial to get a feel for the visuals, but I learn a ton at each new track I run at. I’m excited to run some laps at another one.”